


I'm A Little Bit Lost Without You

by xactamundo



Category: Supernatural
Genre: (hopefully), Alternate Universe - Angels & Demons, Alternate Universe - College/University, Angel Castiel, Angel Dean Winchester, Angst, Cas being a shy baby, Castiel is like a living furnace, Casual Intimacy, Dean Winchester making bad decisions, Dean is a flirty little shit, Drunk Gabriel, Gabriel can be a helpful little fucker when he wants to be, Gratuitous use of italics, History of Japan references where they don't belong, Implied/Referenced Sex, It's fluffy too, M/M, Making Out, Movie Nights, Slow Burn, Tickle Fights, Underage Drinking, author sucks at updating, fake ids, i didn't mean to make it angsty at all i'm sorry, just a little bit, just thought it should be noted, like 2-3 sentences, like it's really low-key, obviously
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-04
Updated: 2017-09-17
Packaged: 2018-07-21 14:48:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 18,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7391533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xactamundo/pseuds/xactamundo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Another angel! college!AU that no one asked for.</p>
<p>Castiel Novak. Good kid. Smart. Squeaky clean record. Keeps good company. A little awkward and slightly intimidating, but who isn't at times?</p>
<p>Dean Winchester. Not the worst. Clever. Only gotten into a couple fights. Decent friends albeit questionable at times. Cocky bastard that gets on everyone's nerves.</p>
<p>Whose <i>incredibly smart</i> idea was it to put the two of them into 228 square feet of space?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>((title taken from Without You by Oh Wonder))</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Castiel was one day into his freshman year of college and he was sure of one thing.

He _did not_ like his roommate. 

Dean Winchester was _loud_ , he was _obnoxious_ , and he was a _cocky little shit_.

Castiel was trying not to make snap judgments, but it was next to impossible to avoid when he knew he would be living with this absolute _heathen_ for the entirety of this school year. 

He had been worried with having to cooperate with a demon roommate, had been delighted when he learned he had an angel rooming with him, and then had his joy smashed into the seventh level of Hell when he met his roommate. 

The man was very noisy. Castiel could hear him coming down the hall with his brother the moment they exited the elevator. _Through the closed door_. When Castiel reached out to shake his hand, he insisted on doing the very straight bro hug that involved a harder than necessary smack on the back that had Castiel discreetly gasping for breath. Dean had large tawny wings that looked almost golden in the sunlight that drifted through the window. He was blond with tanned skin and endless green eyes. 

Castiel would’ve called him beautiful _if he wasn’t such an obnoxious little prick_. He was posturing himself like he was better than everyone in his room. His wings were taking up _way_ more space than necessary, constantly bumping into Castiel’s, even though the shorter man was keeping his wings tucked relatively close to his body. 

Castiel _hated it_. Of all his pet peeves, wings brushing against his own without his permission was the biggest one. 

Dean’s brother was not as bad. The tall man was clearly embarrassed for his brother’s behavior, smiling weakly at Castiel every time they made eye contact. Castiel even heard him whispering angrily at Dean behind the door, imploring him to be polite. Dean had snorted and said something along the lines of “I totally am being polite, Sammy.”

Castiel rolled his eyes so hard that he was pretty sure they nearly disconnected from his retinas. 

During the rest of the move-in, Castiel couldn’t help but notice Dean’s lingering gazes. They seemed to commonly include Dean staring unabashedly at his hips, his face, even his ass a few times. 

Castiel comforted himself with the thought that he would only have to deal with Dean in the dorm and he didn’t have to be in the dorm all the time. A lot of time would be spent in classes and studying. 

Of course, Dean shared three classes with Castiel. Latin, music theory, and calculus. Castiel wasn’t too delighted to realize that Dean was his competition in all three of the classes.

Every class that Castiel had ever been in he had excelled at. However, in every class that he had ever been in there had been another particularly bright person that matched Castiel in brain power. He was used to this, but of all people, he hadn’t expected _Dean Winchester_ to be his competition in Latin, music theory, _and_ calculus. 

Castiel had to give him credit, he was smart.

That fact made Castiel hate him even more.

Castiel learned quickly that Dean studied hard and managed to piss Castiel off as he was doing it. Dean liked to study sprawled out in the middle of the floor, book held over his head, wings spread over the majority of the ground. Castiel had to pick his way around the sea of golden feathers to get to his bed, where he preferred to study. Dean Winchester would purposely make annoying little sounds as he scribbled down notes and read through passages, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth, humming just loud enough for Castiel to hear, shifting his wings to make his feathers ruffle against each other.

Castiel found himself repeatedly storming out of the dorm room to study in the library. 

To Castiel’s chagrin, he couldn’t just leave during class to escape Dean. He would shoot Castiel looks during lectures, smirking at Castiel when he answered a question before Castiel had a chance, winking at him when he answered a question.

The guy was just so _confident_. 

It nearly made Castiel jealous. 

He would never admit it, but Castiel was extremely jealous of Dean Winchester. 

…

“I’m going out to a party, wanna come?” Dean asked when he walked into the dorm a few weeks into the first semester. 

“What makes you think I would enjoy a party?” Castiel asked wearily.

“I don’t know man, who doesn’t want to pick up chicks?”

“I don’t know man,” Castiel replied, imitating Dean’s light Southern drawl, “maybe the gay guy?”

Dean Winchester inhaled sharply, looking… excited? Why would Dean Winchester look excited at that phrase? Castiel had made fun of him, kind of insulted him… and came out? Was that it? Why would Dean Winchester be excited by the fact that Castiel was gay? Maybe…

“Well, the bi guy does. You comin’ or not?” Dean asked.

There it is. Dean Winchester was happy that he found another queer guy. 

“Not.”

“Suit yourself.”

Dean grabbed a jacket off of the foot board of his bed and walked out of the dorm room. Castiel couldn’t help but notice the barely concealed look of disappointment on Dean’s face of the droop of his wings. Did Dean Winchester really think that Castiel would jump at the chance to go to a party with him? 

Castiel didn’t like parties. Too loud. Too many people. Too much booze. Too many drugs. 

Gabriel loved dragging a high-school-aged Castiel to college parties. Castiel was way too knowledgeable of what went on at those parties to even imagine enjoying himself. College parties at his university involved sex, marijuana, cocaine, beer, liquor, and occasionally speed and heroin. 

Dangerous stuff that wasn’t nearly as fun as it sounds. 

Castiel thought belatedly that he should have told Dean not to bring anyone back to the dorm room.

Too late now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> argh i don't really know if i'm gonna finish this like ever 
> 
> encouragement much appreciated
> 
> tbh i have this big idea in my head i've just had trouble with the self motivation to get it typed out so i figured i'd post the first chapter and if anyone else likes it i'll keep going with it
> 
> anyway, if that whole spiel didn't make it clear, the more you comment and bookmark and kudos, the more likely i am to continue this
> 
> thanks for reading and i hope you enjoyed!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alright y'all are bein nice and i had this written

Castiel Novak seemed like a pretty cool guy. 

A little strange, yeah, but all the best people are a little strange.

Castiel had dark brown, nearly black hair that went in every direction possible. He looked like he had been a runner in high school, his legs covered in lithe muscle. Castiel had miles of tanned skin that Dean wanted nothing more than to map out with his hands. His wings were like the midnight sky, a deep purple that shifted to an indigo where they caught the light. Most beautiful of all, though, had to be his eyes. They were an endless blue that seemed to stretch as far and wide as the Pacific Ocean.

Dean mentally sighed after setting down his first box to shake hands with the boy. 

_Probably straight._

All the cutest boys were straight.

Maybe he was wrong, but Dean always assumed they were straight before allowing himself to get attached.

Castiel was smart. He matched Dean blow for blow in all the classes they shared and refused to let himself be distracted while he was studying. Dean flirted as best he could but Castiel was either oblivious or didn’t care. He constantly tried to attract Castiel’s attention, making little noises to pull Castiel’s eyes off of his book, ruffling his wings in a way that had most people staring dreamily at him, even going so far at to spread himself in the middle of their shared room. All of this only seemed to upset Castiel. Their personalities just _clashed_. Dean was outspoken and loud while Castiel was reserved and only spoke when he had something to say. Dean admired that about the boy, but it was so _frustrating_. No matter how hard Dean tried to get his attention, Castiel just kept on _studying_. Dean was a studious person himself but if Castiel had been flirting with him like he was with Castiel, he would’ve dropped his books and been straddling the guy’s lap in a heart beat. 

What a dream _that_ was.

…

Dean didn’t _love_ parties but he didn’t particularly hate them. 

He would’ve enjoyed the party a lot more if Castiel had agreed to go with him. 

He tried – and probably failed – to hide his disappointment when Castiel had insisted on staying at the dorm, but hey, at least Castiel was into guys. At least he had a chance. 

Dean spent the whole party drinking and trying to find a different angle to go at it from. 

He _had_ to get Castiel. 

…

Dean drank himself unconscious for the first time at that party. By sheer luck, someone contacted Castiel, urging him to come collect his thoroughly intoxicated roommate. Castiel showed up about 30 seconds before Dean passed out. 

Dean woke up early the next morning. He was on his side on the floor with his head on a pillow and could hear a couple people speaking. It made sense, Castiel probably didn’t manage to get him back to the dorm on his own. 

“I think he’s waking up, Cassie.” An unfamiliar voice said. “There’s a bag next to you, try not to puke on the floor.”

Dean started to sit up and was met with a wave of nausea. He grabbed the blue plastic Giant Eagle bag and let out the majority of the contents of his stomach.

“I see what you like about him.” The stranger said.

“ _Shut up_ , Gabriel.” Castiel hissed. 

“What?”

Dean heard something that sounded distinctively like a hard cover book hitting skin. 

“Go do something useful.” Castiel said with great urgency. “Get him some water, track down some Advil, do _something_ that isn’t sitting here.”

Gabriel huffed and left the room. Dean managed to sit up and found Castiel at his back in an instant.

“Are you alright?” Castiel asked. He seemed _genuinely_ worried.

“Fine. Drank a little too much ‘s all.”

“A little?”

“Okay, a lot.”

“This is why I don’t like parties.” Castiel murmured under his breath.

Castiel stood up and walked to the bathroom, returning with a cup of water. 

“Slowly.” He ordered, handing Dean the cup. 

Castiel picked his way around Dean’s wings to sit in front of him. Dean smiled weakly when Castiel crossed his legs and glared at him.

“If I ever get a call from someone at a party saying you’re drunk and about ready to pass out again, I swear I will leave you there to choke on your own vomit.” Castiel said in a steady voice. Dean nearly spit out his water as Castiel continued to stare. “Am I understood?”

“Yeah. Yeah, Cas, I get it.”

The door swung open and Dean winced away from a shout of, “You two aren’t making out in here, are ya?”

“Gabriel!” Castiel replied in a scandalized voice.

“What?” Dean squinted at the man that had burst through the door.

“Well Cassie is head over heels for you, Dean-o.”

“Gabriel!” Castiel shrieked again. 

“Catch, little bro!”

Castiel barely managed to catch a pill bottle that Gabriel threw at him. The shorter angel – Castiel’s older brother, evidently – rushed to close the door. Castiel was holding his head in his hands. Dean waited for a moment before speaking.

“Uh, Cas?”

“I’m _so_ sorry about him,”

“It’s no biggie, but…”

“I just couldn’t get you back here on my own and I don’t know anybody around here and he can be _such a nosy prick_ , I would understand why you would be upset,”

“Cas, I’m not mad,”

“I’m _so_ sorry,”

“Novak!” Dean shouted, “I’m not upset but I will be in a minute if you _don’t give me those goddamn painkillers,_ ” he finished with a hiss.

Castiel jumped a bit at Dean’s shouting and handed him the bottle. Dean shook out a couple of pills and knocked them back with the rest of his water. Castiel walked to the mini-fridge and pulled a granola bar out of a box on top of it. He tossed it to Dean before grabbing himself a can of pop. 

“Hey man, give me some root beer?” Dean requested.

“Pop is hard on the stomach as it is and I don’t want to be cleaning your vomit off of my clothes.”

“Your clothes?”

“You’re wearing my hoodie.”

“Why?”

“You were shivering on the way back,” Castiel said, suddenly shy. 

Dean glanced down and was met with the sight of a gray zip-up hoodie that was decidedly not his. Dean considered taking it off, but it was warm and soft on the inside and smelled nice. _Smelled like Cas._ Dean smiled to himself and looked up at Castiel.

“Thank you.”

“For the hoodie or for getting you back to the dorm?”

“Both.” Dean paused and inhaled deeply. “Was that Gabriel guy telling the truth?”

“W-what do you mean?”

“He said you like me?”

Castiel shook his head and edged towards the door, wings tucked around his shoulders in defense and eyes wild with anxiety. Dean started to stand up – to do what, he wasn’t sure – but Castiel was already out of the room, rushing down the hall in a flurry of wings. Dean thought about running after him but his stomach flipped in a way that told him moving at any pace faster than a swift walk would involve everything he had eaten in the past 24 hours to expel itself through his mouth. He settled for collapsing on his bed and trying to reign in his stomach. His head was pounding and the room was spinning and _fuck_ Dean never wanted to drink again.

He barely even realized he had fallen asleep when he was awoken by the door shutting. It was quiet, but Dean had always been a light sleeper. He propped himself up on his elbows, squinting through the darkness and willing his eyes to adjust. He could see the faint outline of Castiel in front of the door. 

“Cas?” Dean asked, voice rough.

The shape of Dean’s roommate moved closer until a hand was on his shoulder, pressing him down into the bed.

“Go back to sleep, Dean.” Castiel ordered, tugging a blanket over him. 

“But Cas…”

“We can talk about it in the morning. Go. To. Sleep.”

Dean sighed and turned over onto his side, facing away from Castiel. He heard Cas make a relieved little noise before his roommate climbed into his own bed. Dean drifted off quickly, eyelids too heavy to stay open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alright same drill i don't have the next chapter written yet so yea
> 
> hope you enjoyed! comments and kudos and bookmarks and all that jazz are greatly appreciated


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anyone have any suggestions to, like, name these chapters? i don't like leaving them as numbers
> 
> that moment when you make a basic outline of a chapter and it makes it super short (-_-)

Beeping, beeping, beeping, obnoxious _beeping_. How was Dean supposed to sleep through this _beeping!?_

He sat up in bed, pulling his blanket around his shoulders and over his head to ward off the chill of the room, wings tucking around his shoulders to further protect from the cold. He could see the outline of Cas moving about, illuminated from behind by the light of the bathroom. He stared unabashedly as Castiel stretched his back and shook out his wings, feathers realigning themselves into their usual positions. Cas walked into the bathroom and Dean could faintly hear the water running as Cas brushed his teeth. Plastic tapped against the counter when Castiel fumbled for his comb. Dean smiled fondly at the thought that no matter how hard Cas tried to comb his hair down, it would still stick out in all directions, wonderfully mussed. Cas emerged from the bathroom and pulled on a pair of jeans, tugging off his sleep shirt. Dean was watching the muscles moving beneath Cas’ skin when Castiel froze and turned his head towards Dean.

“Take a picture, it’ll last longer.” Cas said, his smirk bleeding into his tone.

“Dunno, the lighting is pretty bad at the moment.” Dean said, sighing before he continued, “Are we gonna talk about it?”

“It?”

“ _It_ ,”

Cas thought for a moment. “If you’re interested in being late for Latin, then yes.” Castiel pulled the curtains to the side, flooding the room with light.

Dean winced away, covering his face with the blanket still clutched around his body.

“Dean. _Latin_.” 

Dean peeked at the clock on the wall and jumped up, rushing to pull on a clean t-shirt and jumping into his jeans as he rushed into the bathroom. He brushed his teeth and he pulled a comb through his hair at the same time, feebly trying to counteract the cowlick that had popped up as a result of his sleeping position. He could hear Cas laughing hysterically from the other room. Dean found a hoodie of Castiel’s on the floor of the bathroom (how many hoodies does a guy _need_?) and chucked it at him when he left the bathroom. 

“Thanks for waking me up with time to get ready, asshole.” Dean mumbled, pouting as he gathered up his Latin stuff.

“Come on. We’ve got to get to class.”

Cas led the way out of the dorm, he and Dean walking side by side to the lecture hall. The air was chilly and Dean rubbed crudely at his arms in an inadequate attempt to warm them.

“You could’ve worn that hoodie instead of throwing it at me.” Castiel noted, watching as Dean shivered.

“Shut up, I didn’t realize it was going to be this _cold_.”

People shot them a few weird looks as they walked in, but Dean chose to ignore them, instead focusing on the heat of Castiel’s body at his side. The guy felt like a living furnace. He thought of following Cas to his area and kicking someone else out of their regular seat (to warm up faster, obviously, why else would he want to?), but decided against it, parting from his raven haired roommate and sitting on the opposite side of the lecture hall, as he usually did. 

As class began, Dean kept catching Cas glancing towards him. Dean was doing a decent job at paying attention to the _incredibly interesting_ lecture, but every time he looked up he found Castiel staring at him. At his wings, at his face, at his hands, at his hair. It wasn’t like Cas to be caught up in looking at him, it was usually the other way around.

Dean responded with flirty little smirks and a few winks. Every time Cas saw Dean looking back, he dropped his eyes to his books, blushing furiously. 

“Winchester! Novak! Quit making heart eyes at each other and pay attention!”

Dean jumped and pulled his eyes off of a still blushing Castiel.

“Sorry, sir.” Dean said to the professor, who was still glaring at him, as if he had corrupted Castiel in some way. When the professor finally turned away, Dean caught Castiel’s eye one final time and blew a kiss at him. Cas’ eyes widened before he tore his eyes off of Dean to concentrate on class. Dean smiled to himself before doing the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was gonna ask y'all's opinion about a direction that i want to take the story in but i'v gonna write it that way either way so whateves (◡‿◡✿)
> 
> i hope y'all enjoyed! ya know the drill, comments and kudos and such make me write faster  
> ( ･_･)~♡  
> [my tumblr](http://xactamundo.tumblr.com)
> 
> hope to see you in the next chapter!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ugh this chapter took forever, sorry, i've been swamped with summer work and it just wouldn't allow itself to be written for quite a while
> 
> excuses aside, i hope you enjoy

Cas sat up in bed for a moment before turning off his alarm. He pulled himself out of bed and heard Dean stir before he turned on the light in the bathroom. He stretched languidly, shaking his feathers back into place. Walking into the bathroom, he quickly brushed his teeth and combed his hair, huffing impatiently when his hair uncooperatively stood in every direction besides the one he was going for. He eventually decided that it was good enough and walked back into the dark room to change. 

Cas pulled off his shirt and was about to grab a clean one, but could feel Dean’s eyes roving across his back and wings. Cas abandoned his reach, instead turning towards Dean.

“Take a picture, it’ll last longer.” Cas said, surprised at his own sass. 

“Dunno, the lighting’s pretty bad.” Dean sounded composed, but Cas would bet money that he was blushing furiously. 

Cas shifted his wings to allow the light from the bathroom to fall on Dean’s face. _Definitely_ blushing.

Cas casually grabbed a clean shirt while easily evading Dean’s attempt to start _that_ conversation. He knew that his best bet on avoiding it would be to point out to Dean that they were going to be late, but put it off for just a few moments to see a bit more of half-asleep Dean. He was kind of cute when he wasn’t – _nope. Nopity nope nope nope not cute. Not cute at all. Class. Going to be late to class. Tell Dean we’re going to be late to class._

Cas walked over and yanked the curtains open, smirking when Dean shrunk into his blanket.

“Dean, _Latin_.”

Dean peered out from his blanket, likely at the clock, and literally _jumped_ out of bed. Castiel was laughing hysterically as he gathered his things. He barely deflected the flying hoodie that Dean threw at him in anger. Dean mumbled something that sounded like a sarcastic thank you. Cas led the way out of the dorm, walking next to Dean towards the lecture hall. Dean was rubbing furiously at his arms and Castiel _almost_ felt bad for him. 

Dean glared at him when he reminded him that he could’ve worn the hoodie that he threw. Dean seemed to be subconsciously leaning towards Cas, seeking warmth. Cas allowed it.

When they walked into the lecture hall, quite a few people seemed to find it strange that the two of them walked in together. Cas waited a moment before parting from Dean to go to his seat. He felt eyes on the back of his neck and shot a glare over his shoulder to a boy a few rows back. 

Cas couldn’t help but watch Dean across the hall, laughing with the people sitting around him. His friends. All of Castiel’s friends were in other classes at other colleges. He thought absent mindedly that Dean probably didn’t even think about talking to all of his friends. It was likely so natural that he didn’t even acknowledge the fact that he was chatting. Castiel lost himself in the memories of all of his friends, scattered across the country. Jealousy flooded the front of Cas’ mind. Why couldn’t _he_ have friends around here? Why did pretty boy Dean Winchester get to be surrounded by his friends? 

Castiel was brought back to himself when the professor began to lecture. Cas tried his best to focus on the front of the room where the professor was pacing, but his eyes kept wandering to Dean. Cas’ jealously had faded out, replaced by some feeling that he didn’t recognize right off the bat. He contemplated what this flood of chemicals in his brain could add up to while his eyes mindlessly trailed over Dean. He finally got the name of the emotion under his thumb when Dean caught his eyes in a trip across his face. _Longing_. Dean raised an eyebrow before smirking and winking. Cas forced himself to drop his eyes, feeling his face flushing. 

This happened again and again. Cas had a feeling that Dean was flirting, but didn’t know how to _react_. He wasn’t the flirting type, preferring a more straight-forward approach.

Luckily, Cas didn’t have to figure out how to respond. The professor shouted at them, although Castiel had a feeling that the reprimand was aimed at Dean. 

Dean apologized while Cas, once again, stared at the table in front of him. Cas couldn’t keep himself from glancing up at Dean one more time. Dean quickly peered around, making sure no one was looking before blowing a kiss in Castiel’s direction. 

Cas, not knowing how to react, returned to staring at the table. When he trusted his eyes to obey his brain again, he focused back in on the lecture.

This was going to be a long year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i feel like cas' chapter got the short end of the plot stick this time :/
> 
> the next chapter is set to be a bit different, so stay tuned for that
> 
> i hope you enjoyed! kudos/comments make me write faster, i love the feedback! i hope to see y'all in the next chapter!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHEN I WAS WRITING THIS I WROTE HANDOS INSTEAD OF HANDS ON AND I DIED I'M NOT EVEN JOKING W H Y

“Movie night?” Castiel asked, looking up from his calculus textbook with an unamused expression.

“In celebration of the TV.” Dean explained.

Cas looked over at the beat up 24” flat screen. The remote didn’t work, meaning that it could only be controlled by the buttons on the side of the TV. There were several pixels on the screen that refused to work and one occasionally had to smack the top of the old thing to get the sound to go. It wasn’t connected to a cable box or a satellite, so it was hooked up to a Chromecast. Cas looked back at Dean with a bored look on his face.

“C’mon! It’ll be fun, maybe we can even start to work that stick out of your ass!” Dean said. Cas’ expression shifted to a sharp glare. Dean rolled his eyes. “That was a _joke_. Now’s the part where you laugh.”

Cas dropped his eyes back to his textbook. 

“It’s happening whether you’re going to participate or not. Why don’t you invite your brother or something? Sammy’s coming over. You remember him, big oaf that helped me move in? He’s been taking college classes since he was a sophomore, imagine that! He’s a senior now and colleges are looking to take him when he graduates cause of soccer and…” Dean realized that he was saying too much and fell silent. 

Castiel noticed Dean abruptly dropping off and looked up again. 

“You seem very proud of Sam.” Castiel said in an attempt to fill the quite awkward silence. 

Dean smiled fondly. “Yeah. He’s a real good kid. He’s gonna make a good life for himself.”

Castiel tried to suppress a grin at the adorable smile on Dean’s face. He let the more comfortable quiet rest for a moment before breaking it once again.

“If I invite Gabriel he will most certainly bring alcohol.” Cas sighed.

“I have absolutely no issue with that.” Dean said with a smirk. 

There was regular Dean. And to think Cas had been worried for a moment. 

…

Sam brought a couple bags of chips and a dozen cans of soda. Dean quickly reintroduced Sam and Cas. Cas found it easy to engage Sam in a conversation about the novels he had been reading, Dean mumbling something along the lines of ‘fucking nerds’. 

Dean was awkwardly walking around the room, cleaning up little things and checking the fridge multiple times as if to remind himself that nothing new had appeared. Sam didn’t notice, too engrossed in conversation with Cas, but Cas could tell that Dean felt awkward being unable to join in their conversation. Dean was smart, but he wasn’t a reader. 

Cas was mentally going over ways to include Dean in he and Sam’s discussion, but Dean spoke first.

“Cas, your phone is ringing.”

“Toss it to me.”

Both of them knew that meant ‘toss it to the nearest soft surface because Castiel cannot catch to save his life’. Dean elected to gently throw it into Cas’ lap since he and Sam were sitting on the floor. Cas groaned when he checked his texts.

“Gabriel is going to be late.” Cas said.

“That’s okay. We can pick something to watch until he shows up.” Dean suggested.

“That works.” Sam agreed. 

Dean threw some blankets across the scratchy carpet in front of the TV while Castiel booted up his computer to connect with the Chromecast. Once Cas had connected and Dean had turned on the TV (banging his fist on top of it for good measure, much to the horror of Sam), Dean came up behind Cas, planting his hands on either side of the laptop and looking over Cas’ shoulder at the movies selection on Netflix. Dean moved Cas’ hand off the trackpad, selecting a movie with Cas huffing in an annoyed tone. 

Castiel had gotten used to Dean’s handsy-ness, but Dean was pushing it, keeping him boxed in against the desk. When Cas finally deemed it too much, he swatted at Dean’s arm and flapped a wing against his face. Dean backed away immediately, coughing wildly.

“My mouth was open, you ass!” Dean shouted.

“That sounds like a you problem.” Cas said, reaching around his wing to smooth his feathers back out. 

Dean grumbled, walking over to the fridge and pulling out a can of pop. The three of them settled themselves on the floor in front of the TV as the movie started up. Dean was entirely too close to Cas, but Cas decided not to comment on it. 

They were about twenty minutes into the movie when Gabriel knocked on the door. Cas got up to let his brother in and was immediately shoved aside by the shorter angel. 

“Hey, Cassie!” Gabriel sang.

“Hello, Gabriel.” 

“Don’t act like you aren’t happy to see me, little bro.”

“It isn’t acting.”

Gabriel shoved Cas’ shoulder. “Where’s your fridge?” He asked, holding up a six-pack. 

Cas led Gabriel to the back of the room where the mini-fridge sat, humming away. Gabe grabbed him by the front of his shirt and leaned close to his younger brother’s ear. 

“Who is that _hunk_ of an angel over there?” Gabriel hissed.

“Surely you aren’t talking about Dean.” Cas replied quietly.

“Nuh uh. The other one.”

“That’s Sam. Dean’s younger brother.” 

“He’s cute,” Gabe said, lingering on the ‘u’. 

“You’re a child.”

Cas grabbed Gabriel by the wrist and dragged him over to the TV. He introduced him to Sam and Dean, electing to ignore the obnoxious wink Gabe sent towards Sam. 

Cas turned off the lights before returning to his position next to Dean. Cas winced as he heard Gabe flirting with Sam. 

“I’m sorry about him,” Cas mumbled to Dean.

“Sam doesn’t mind it. If anything, he’s reciprocating.” Dean replied in a low tone. 

“You’re joking.”

“Nope. Just listen to the two of them.”

Cas fell silent and immediately could hear what Dean was talking about. Sam and Gabriel were unabashedly flirting with each other and Dean fake gagged after a moment. Cas heard a little grunt when Sam elbowed Dean in the side. 

“Just ignore them.” Dean mumbled entirely too close to Cas’ ear. 

Cas rolled his eyes before shifting around to lay on his stomach. Dean followed suit, allowing one of his wings to fall along top of Cas’ back. Cas huffed angrily, squirming a bit. Eventually the two of them settled, Cas reluctantly remaining underneath the edge of Dean’s wing. 

The movie passed with Gabe and Dean each drinking three of the beers Gabe brought. Once the credits rolled and Netflix suggested another movie, Cas turned the lights back on. Gabe and Sam seemed too wrapped up in each other to notice Cas and Dean staring at them. Dean cleared his throat after a moment, Sam’s eyes widening as he put a couple feet of space in between him and Gabriel. Cas rolled his eyes.

“You two are gross.” Dean said, throwing his most recently emptied bottle into the garbage. 

Cas was about to remind Dean that they had a recycling bin, but Gabriel looked like he was about to speak.

“You’re one to… you know what? Never mind.” Gabriel said, reading Cas’ facial expressions like a champ. “We are officially out of beer. Sam, you’re driving me to the nearest gas station so I can pick up some more.”

Sam nodded eagerly and grabbed his jacket off of Dean’s bed. Gabe led the way out of the dorm, shooting a wink at Cas before leaving. 

“They’re into each other.” Dean decided after a moment.

“Unmistakably.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO SORRY I WANTED THIS UP YESTERDAY AND I DON'T WANT TO DELAY IT MORE BY PROOF READING SO HERE *throws fanfiction at the screen* HAVE SOME SABRIEL
> 
> like i said, this isn't proofread so if you notice any glaring mistakes, please point them out so i can fix them
> 
> in other news, don't drink unless youre of legal age kiddos
> 
> anywho i hope you enjoyed! the next two chapters are gonna start getting............ getting. so brace yourselves. leave me a comment and kudos if you enjoyed and i hope to see you in the next chapter!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know this is super short but i hope y'all enjoy

The beginning of the second semester brought tension into the dorm room. Nothing in particular had happened between Dean and Castiel, but something was making Dean edgy. The blond was irritable and restless, sitting up until the early morning tapping away at his laptop. He seemed nervous whenever he was out of the dorm room.

Dean was still all cocky smirks and raised eyebrows, but something just seemed… off. All attempts at figuring out what was wrong had been shot down within seconds. “Are you feeling alright, Dean?” “I’m fantastic, Cas. You want to order pizza?”. “Is there something wrong?” “Not at all. Did you get the answer to number seven on the calculus?”. “What’s been going on with you?” “What, am I not allowed to be nervous for a test?”. “Are you okay?” “I’d be fine if you stopped asking.”

Dean was excellent at dodging questions. 

…

Cas had holed himself up in a little corner in the library to finish a Latin essay (because who _doesn’t_ need a five-page essay on why English has Latin roots and where said roots are most commonly found) and had forced himself to leave to get lunch at around noon. Cas was on his way back from the little student-run café when he heard Dean speaking nervously. On any other day he may’ve walked away and tried to tune it out, but after the past couple of weeks and listening to Dean’s panicked tone for a second too long, Cas was throwing his bag over his shoulder and jogging towards the sound of Dean’s voice. 

His brief jog brought him to a little alley radiating off of a pavilion dedicated to someone who had thrown more money at the college than any regular person would want to. Dean was surrounded by seven or so demons, tails angrily swishing, eyes flickering to black every once in a while. They formed a semi-circle around Dean, keeping him pinned against a wall. Every time Dean made a move to escape he was shoved back. The demons were all talking to Dean and although Cas couldn’t pick out any specific words he could tell that they were not kind. Cas was just thinking how amazing it was that Dean wasn’t lashing out or talking back to them when Dean replied to one of their remarks. What he had said was a mystery but it clearly didn’t make the demons happy. Three of them were on Dean immediately, effectively beating him into the ground. Cas was about to run for help when a particularly dirty-fighting demon reached for one of Dean’s wings and yanked out a handful of feathers. Something in Castiel’s stomach snapped and he felt all of his unbridled anger rip out of his chest. Lightening hit the ground at the entry of the alleyway, causing the bullies to back up and sprint in various directions. Cas immediately wanted to rush to Dean’s side but knew that he needed a minute unless he wanted to burn the campus down. Cas closed his eyes and tried to control his breathing. He could hear people shouting and could just barely pick out the voices of the campus police. There was a hand on Castiel’s shoulder, pushing him to his knees on the ground. Cold, metallic stabilizer cuffs were snapped around his wrists although Cas didn’t notice. His mind was racing almost too fast for him to keep up with. _Is Dean alright? Why were those demons messing with him? Why didn’t Dean fight back? Where were the campus police taking him? Who’s going to help Dean? Why were people still trying to speak to him? Why had seeing Dean hurt upset him so much? Why why why why why?_

Cas had barely come back to himself when they pulled up to the station. The car he had been loaded into stopped and an officer snapped his fingers in front of Cas’ face.

“Anybody home, yet?” 

Cas couldn’t contain a sharp glare.

“Fantastic. You got a name?”

“Castiel Novak.” 

The officer nodded before letting Cas out of the back of the car. He led Cas into the station with a firm hand on his shoulder. 

“One call.” The officer said, showing Cas to a wall phone. He uncuffed Cas’ hands and walked to the other side of the room, presumably to start filling out paperwork. 

Cas inhaled deeply before dialing Gabriel’s number.

_”Hello?”_

Cas sighed in relief when Gabriel answered. “Gabriel? I got arrested.”

_”Took you long enough. Need me to come get you?”_

“No. I’ll be fine. I need you to go help Dean.”

Gabriel started to ask what happened, but Cas cut him off. “I can explain later. Just go help him.” Cas gave Gabriel a brief description of Dean’s location. 

_”So you don’t want me to get you?”_

“I thought I made that clear. I’m an adult, Gabriel. I can handle myself.”

_”Dean is an adult too. I’m more worried about you, little bro.”_

“For the last time, I will be fine. I’ve got to go.”

_”Dammit, Cassie. Try not to do anything too stupid.”_

“Love you too, Gabriel.”

When Cas hung up the officer was immediately at his back, ushering him into a nearby holding cell. Cas’ bag was taken from him and his pockets were hastily searched before the cell door was closed. 

Cas sat down on a bench, holding his head in his hands and sighing deeply.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhhhhhhhhhhhh okay so that happened
> 
> i hope y'all enjoyed! leave me a comment and kudos if you did and i hope to see y'all next chapter!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG TO WRITE  
> in my defense I've been at band camp from 10am to 3pm every weekday sometimes with tennis from 3pm to 4:30pm after that so whenever I get home I'm too tired to do much more than eat dinner before passing out and I was at a mandatory retreat for a y-staff thing I'm doing last weekend sooooo yeah. it's here now. hope you enjoy

Ages. The demons had been going after Dean for _ages_. It had started with shoving and name calling. That was easy. Dean could handle that, but as things started getting more and more intense, Dean began to realize that he was boxing himself in to be the classical ‘we were just messing around’ story. It wasn’t like he could fight back in the first place, he had to keep out of fights since he was there on a scholarship. The school hadn’t been hesitant about kicking out numerous of other kids in his position for smaller infractions than fights. 

For some reason Dean had a feeling that Cas would be pissed if he found out. He and Cas still weren’t exactly the best of friends, but whenever Dean said something bad about himself – joking or not – Castiel took it very seriously, making Dean take back his remark before he would drop it. Dean couldn’t imagine Cas’ reaction to _this_. 

Time and time again Dean would be sprinting into the bathroom when Cas began to unlock the door, simply to avoid Cas seeing the bruises on his ribcage and tears in his eyes. 

Dean was upset enough by this whole fiasco; he just didn’t want to drag Cas into it. 

Everything really climaxed when Dean had been on his way to a little coffee shop just outside of campus to pick up a caffeine boost and maybe a little treat for himself from the bakery. Dean took a detour through an alley way off of the campus center to avoid the traffic of lunch hour when he was shoved roughly against a wall. He found the attacker to be a snarling demon who had probably heard about Dean being the new punching bag. Suddenly, six more demons surrounded Dean. 

“Heya, boys. Looks like you’ve downgraded from a shit ton to a fuck ton. Did I say downgrade? I meant upgrade.”

Dean suppressed a chuckle at his own joke, but his joking manner quickly dropped when a heavy fist collided with his ribcage right where a bruise had almost finished healing. Immediately Dean’s instincts were telling him to fight back, picking out the weaknesses in his enemies and searching desperately for a means of escape. Something told him that this wasn’t going to be a normal beating. Something was off in the demons’ expressions and stances. This was double the attackers compared to the usual encounters. Dean wasn’t going to fight back for fear of getting expelled and there weren’t any plausible escape plans so Dean resorted to doing what he did best. Trying to talk his way out of it. 

Dean started to speak, unsure of what exactly he was saying. All he knew was that he only had a few options. Distracting them long enough to run away, making them forget about wanting to kick the shit out of him, or taking the beating as best he can. The last option involved curling up on the ground and protecting his vital organs, so Dean quickly made that his last course of action. The first two went hand in hand so Dean decided to just keep talking.

After what could’ve been a few minutes or a few hours Dean could tell that his plan wasn’t working. The demons were closing in, seeming increasingly angry. He made a few moves to leave the semi-circle keeping pinned against the wall, but was shoved back each time with increasing vigor. Eventually the demons seemed to tire of Dean’s babbling. One seemed to silently consult the one next to him before kicking Dean squarely in the ribcage. Dean cried out in shock and pain. He remembered examining a slowly healing bruise there just this morning. Fantastic. Dean tried vainly to protect his face and stomach, while the other demons got with the program and joined in, wailing on Dean with abandon. 

This was fine, though. Dean could take this. 

At least, that’s what he thought until a stinging pain exploded in his right wing. It burned so much that Dean couldn’t even bring himself to cry out. By the time he came to be in control of his vocal cords again, a bright flash of lightening caught his attention. He glanced up at the sky and saw that it was clear as it had ever been. 

An archangel must’ve created it. 

Dean looked back in the direction of the strike and squinted at the slowly settling dust. His breath caught in his throat when he recognized the dark wings and messy hair and tanned skin.

Castiel was an archangel.

Castiel hadn’t _told Dean_ that he was an archangel. 

Dean was about to try to stand up and walk over to Castiel (or more plausibly call Cas over to speak with him) but the campus police were descending upon his roommate. Dean glanced around and noticed that all the demons had bolted, leaving him alone and sitting in the shadows, too weak to stand. Before he knew what was happening, the police had driven off with Cas in tow.

Dean reached for his phone in his pocket and found it shattered from landing on it when he had been kicked to the ground at some point. He tried unlocking it and furiously beat it against the heel of his hand when it didn’t turn on. He held down the home button to active Siri, but all that came out of the speaker were garbled noises that may at some point have mimicked human speech. Dean sighed and tucked the broken thing into his pocket. Maybe the warranty would cover it. 

Dean was about to try to get up and get back to the dorm when he noticed someone running in his direction. Seconds later he had a very flustered Gabriel kneeling in front of him. 

“What _in the actual Hell_ happened?” Gabe asked, already examining the cuts on Dean’s arms. 

“Demons.” Dean managed to stutter out while trying weakly to pull his arm away from Gabriel. “Do you know what happened with Cas?” 

“Arrested. Called me and told me to come get you.” 

“Come get _me_?”

“Yeah. He’s worried about you. C’mon now. I’m taking you back to my dorm.”

“I’m fine, I’ll just walk back to my room, I can deal with it myself.”

“Nope. Coming with me. Let’s go.”

Gabe stood and helped Dean to his feet before leading him off towards his dorm. 

“What makes you qualified to help me, exactly?” Dean asked while Gabe continued to pull him along.

“Aw you’re hurting my feelings.”

“That doesn’t answer my-“

“I’m a med student, Dean. Cassie wouldn’t just hand you off to anyone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anyone catch that totally unnecessary History of Japan reference?
> 
> i hope y'all enjoyed! leave me a comment telling me what you thought and i'll see you in the next chapter!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> who has two thumbs and didn't proofread?
> 
> THIS GIRL
> 
> (that's code for if you spot a mistake please point it out)

“Alright… Cas-tee-yell?” 

“Just Cas. Please.”

Cas looked warily at the unfamiliar officer in front of him. He wasn’t sure how long he had been sitting in the holding cell but something inside him said that it was taking too long. Had Gabriel managed to find Dean? Did the demons return and pick up where they left off with him? If Gabriel had found him, could he even help Dean with his wounds? What if Gabriel didn’t know what to do? Cas managed to pull himself out of his own thoughts when he realized that the officer was speaking.

“…Cas, we’ll let you off with a warning since you claim something upset you and you lost control of your powers, but we can only do that if you explain what set you off.”

Cas sighed inwardly. “How much detail do you need?”

“Why don’t you just tell me what you want to and we can go from there.”

“Alright then. Well my roommate has been acting strange and closed off for a few weeks,” Cas paused and the officer jumped in.

“Are you and your roommate close?”

“I… yes? Yes.”

“You’re sure about that?” The officer joked. He chuckled but fell silent when he found Cas glaring sharply at him. “Are you and your roommate friends, then?”

“If I say yes can we continue on from this point?”

“I guess so.”

“Then yes. My roommate had been acting strange and when I was walking from the library to pick up some lunch I heard him talking and he sounded worried so I went to see what was wrong.” Cas swallowed and took a deep breath before continuing. “There were some demons beating him up.” Cas quickly decided to end it there, hoping that the officer would be satisfied with that explanation. “And that just set me off, I suppose.” It had been so long since Cas lost control of his powers that he had forgotten just how much information that the police needed before they would accept that he wasn’t just trying to burn to campus to the ground. 

The officer wrote some things down on the clipboard he had balanced on his knees. “I hate to break it to you, Cas, but we need a bit more than that. You’re an adult now, you are expected to have more control than this.”

“I know.”

“Then do you want to be more specific about what exactly upset you about your roommate getting beaten up?”

“ _Theymessedwithhiswings._ ” Cas rushed out.

“Pardon?”

“They… the demons messed with his – my roommate’s – wings.”

“Could you clarify on what you mean by ‘messed with’?”

“They ripped out some of his feathers, okay? Can I leave now?” Cas growled. 

The officer went wide-eyed before hurriedly nodding and handing Cas the clipboard with an order to sign on the line. The officer was about to go on explaining why Cas had to sign it but Cas was already shoving the clipboard back through the bars with a messy signature on it. 

The officer unlocked the door and Cas immediately rushed out of the station, barely stopping to gather his bag and the things taken out of his pockets. 

Cas ran towards his dorm. Snow began to fall, sticking in Cas’ hair and wings, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. He was just about to enter the elevator when his phone began to ring. He pulled it out and answered when he saw that it was Gabriel.

_“Cassie! How was the slammer?”_ Gabriel called cheerily.

“Now is not the time, Gabriel.”

_“’course, little bro. Dean’s at my dorm.”_

Cas swore under his breath.

_”Was that profanity, Cassie?”_

“I’ll be there in five.”

Castiel hung up and spun around to sprint out of the dorm. The snow was coming down harder now. Cas was amazed that he hadn’t slipped and fallen yet. He was at the door to Gabriel’s dorm in record time, panting as he knocked loudly. The door opened and Cas quickly shoved his way passed his brother and made a beeline towards where Dean was sitting on the floor. He dropped to his knees in front of him, concern overtaking his thoughts.

“Are you alright?” Castiel asked, looking Dean over frantically. 

“’m fine, Cas.” Dean mumbled, 

“Nuh uh. We aren’t doing that again.”

Dean dropped his gaze. Cas was about to speak, but was interrupted by Gabriel when he settled a hand on his shoulder. 

“Can I talk to you in the hallway for a moment?” Gabriel asked. 

Cas allowed himself to be led out into the hall. He was made extremely nervous by Gabriel’s serious expression. 

“Dean isn’t letting me fix his wing.” Gabriel said.

“Why not?” 

“I think you know.”

“No, I actually don’t. Why wouldn’t Dean want his wing fixed?”

“C’mon, Cassie. Connect the dots.”

“He’s not letting you mess with his wings; what dots are there to… oh.”

“Oh is right.”

“But… we’re not…”

“Quit beating around the bush, Cas. It’s not just him either. You’ve been getting more and more protective.” 

“Have not.”

“Dude. Seriously? You lost your shit when those demons were beating him up, you called me and told me to help him instead of coming to get you. Even a few minutes ago, I saw how you were looking at him. People don’t get that concerned when it’s just their friend. Accept it, Cassie.”

“But… we’re not… mates. We just aren’t,”

“Say what you want little bro. You can’t just change it by saying that you aren’t.”

“No. Gabriel. We seriously aren’t. We haven’t done… that.”

Gabriel squinted at Cas. “You’re serious? But that just doesn’t make sense. Maybe you’re just meant to be together.”

“Don’t.”

“Fine. Dropping it. Anyway, you can take him back to your dorm, but you’ve got to promise me you’ll fix up his wing.”

“What makes you think I can get him to let me do it? Actually, don’t answer that.”

“I’ll text you instructions and send you back with the first aid stuff.”

“Got it.” 

Gabriel and Cas walked back into the dorm room to find Dean hissing at Gabriel’s roommate, Adam. Adam had his hands in the air and was slowly backing away from the angry angel.

“Dean!” Cas shouted. Dean jumped, turning to smile weakly at Cas. 

Cas noticed Gabriel slipping a little plastic box into his bag before handing it over. Cas pulled Dean off the ground.

“We’re heading back to the dorm. Thanks for helping, Gabriel.” Cas called over his shoulder as he led Dean out of his brother’s dorm room.

“Any time, little bro.” Gabriel called back before Cas pulled the door closed. 

“Do you have a hoodie or something? It’s snowing.” Cas asked when he noticed that Dean was only in a thin t-shirt.

“I’ll be fine.” Dean insisted. 

Cas shook his head and pulled off his hoodie. 

“Cas, no. I can handle it.”

Before Dean could protest again, Cas had wrapped his hoodie around Dean’s shoulders and part of his wings. Dean sighed and Cas glared at him when he made a move to take off Cas’ hoodie. Dean held Cas’ gaze for a moment before sheepishly dropping his eyes and pulling Cas’ hoodie tighter around his shoulders. Cas, seemingly satisfied, held the door open for Dean on the way out of the dorm.

They walked through the snow side by side, Cas stealing glances at Dean when he thought he wasn’t looking and vice a versa. 

By the time they got back to the dorm Cas’ nose was running and Dean’s face was flushed pink. The second they entered their room Cas was grabbing a blanket and Dean was opening a beer. Cas made a little cloak from his duvet and sat on his bed, patting the space next to him to invite Dean over. Dean plopped down next to Cas, taking a long pull from his beer. 

“I thought we agreed that there would be no more illegally purchased alcohol in this dorm room?” Castiel groaned, reaching for his bag and phone. 

“What makes you think I bought this illegally?” 

“The fact that you just confirmed you bought it and…” Cas plucked the bottle out of Dean’s hand and set it on the floor, out of Dean’s reach, “the fact that you’re underage.” 

Dean rolled his eyes and made a grab for his beer which Castiel quickly deflected. 

“We’ve got more important business to attend to than your drinking habits.”

“Like what?”

“I’m fixing your wing since you refused Gabriel and Adam’s help.”

Dean glanced at Cas forlornly. “Do you have to?”

“It’s either me or the hospital, Dean.”

“Fine. Where do you want me?”

“I just need your back to me, so however you feel most comfortable.”

Dean decided on facing the TV, which had found a home in front of the window. He clicked away on Cas’ laptop, choosing a movie on Netflix to watch. With Dean’s go-ahead, Cas began working on the angry red spot on Dean’s wings, following Gabriel’s texted instructions. Once Castiel was done, he couldn’t help but notice the out of place feathers and twig stuck in Dean’s wings. He bit his lip momentarily before letting his hands go on autopilot, grooming the remainder of Dean’s wings. By the time he was finished, the movie was long over, Dean was asleep with his head propped up in the palm of his hand, and the sun was peeking over the branches of far off trees.

Castiel had stayed up all night grooming Dean’s wings.

Fan-fucking-tastic.

Cas thought about trying to get a hint of sleep before his first class, but his alarm clock decided to go off right at that moment. Dean jumped awake and looked around the room frantically as if he were expecting something to jump out and attack him. He settled a bit when his eyes landed on Cas.

“You been up all night?” Dean asked, concern tinging the edges of his voice.

“It’s no big deal.”

“It actually is; we have class in forty-five minutes.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“C’mon, Cas. At least let me get you some coffee.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“Nope. Going to Starbucks right now. You aren’t stopping me.”

“Well if you insist, I want-“

“I know what you want. I’ll meet you at the lecture hall.”

With that, Dean was gone. Cas found himself smiling at the empty space Dean had previously occupied when he was hit with a worrying thought.

Wasn’t he supposed to hate Dean Winchester?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alrightalrightalrightalrightalrightalrightalrightalright now ladies!  
> and gentlemen.  
> and everyone inbetween.
> 
> i'm gonna be honest with you.
> 
> i only have one chapter plotted out after this one.
> 
> not like i'm gonna be done after one more.
> 
> like i don't know what i'm gonna do after that one.
> 
> smut? fluff? angst? who knows! not me!
> 
> so if y'all have any preference regarding where this story goes hmu in the comments or on my [ tumblr](http://xactamundo.tumblr.com)
> 
> see y'all in the next chapter!


	9. Chapter 9

Dean was _angry_.

Not only had his plan to not upset Cas backfired in the worst possible way, his own issues got Cas arrested. Gabriel refused to tell him where Cas was while ushering him along to an unfamiliar dorm on the opposite side of campus from his own. 

When Dean entered Gabriel’s dorm room, he immediately turned to leave.

“Whoa there, tiger. Where do you think you’re going?” Gabe asked, blocking Dean’s access to the door. 

“Goin’ to find Cas. He got in trouble ‘cause of me.” Dean explained while trying to dodge around Gabe to leave.

“Dean. Cas is fine. He asked me to help you out and I’m going to do it whether you like it or not.”

“Gabe! Did you take my s-” A strange human emerged from the bathroom. “I didn’t know you had company. Did you want me to leave?”

“Nah, you’re fine. Dean, this is Adam. My roommate.” Gabe turned to Adam. “This is Dean, he got into a bit of a fight and my little bro asked me if I could patch him up.” 

“Well I’m hopping in the shower.” Adam disappeared back into the bathroom.

“C’mon, Dean-o. Let’s get ’cha fixed up.” Gabe pressed down on Dean’s shoulder until he sat in the middle of the floor. “Start with the small stuff?” Gabe asked. Dean reluctantly nodded. 

Gabriel set to work fixing up the cuts and scrapes on Dean’s arms and knees. Dean sat quietly and stared at the wall as Gabe worked. By the time he had finished nearly an hour had passed. 

“Alright. That’s all the smaller issues taken care of; now about your w-“

“No.” Dean said, cutting Gabriel off. 

“I’m sorry, did the middle of my sentence interrupt the beginning of yours?”

“You aren’t touching my wings.”  
At that moment, Adam reemerged from the bathroom. He froze at the death glare Dean was shooting at Gabriel.

“Bad time?” Adam asked nervously.

“No.” Gabe coolly answered after a moment. “You’re fine.” 

Adam cautiously crept over to his bed as if he was nervous he was going to startle Dean. 

“I’ll be right back.” Gabriel walked into the hallway, leaving Dean and Adam alone in the room.

“Uh, can I, like, get you anything?” Adam asked.

“Got any beer?” Dean asked.

Adam nodded, getting up and handing Dean a bottle. Dean twisted the cap off, taking a long pull. 

“’ppreciate it.” Dean said, rolling his shoulder to keep from scratching at his wing. 

Gabriel came back into the room, shoving his phone in his pocket.

“Who were you calling?” Adam asked through a mouthful of nacho cheese Doritos. 

“Don’t talk with your mouth full, were you raised in a barn?” Gabriel snapped, clearly not in the mood to talk about whatever phone call he had been on. 

Gabe grabbed himself a beer bottle and sat on his bed, tapping away at his phone, probably playing a game of some sort. Dean zoned out for a few minutes before there was a frantic pounding on the door. Gabe moved leisurely towards it, Dean tensing up immensely before Gabe even made it half way to the door. Dean glanced uneasily around the room and found Adam giving him a concerned look. Dean shook his head a worked on stopping the trembling in his wings. There wasn’t anything to be afraid of. 

Gabe opened the door and was immediately shoved aside by a frazzled Castiel. Dean felt the tension drain out of every part of his body, his wings slumping down tiredly. 

“Are you alright?” Cas asked, looking Dean up and down frantically. 

Dean insisted he was fine but that just made Cas give him a hard and frustrated look. 

“Nuh uh. We aren’t doing that again.” 

Dean was just about to say something (probably an apology that Cas would inevitably reject) but Gabe whisked Cas out into the hallway before Dean had a chance to reply. 

When the door shut, Adam snorted.

“What?” Dean asked defensively, looking over his shoulder at the human. 

Adam laughed again. “What are you two, mated?” He got up and walked across the room to what Dean assumed was his laptop. 

“I wish.” Dean mumbled quietly, half hoping that Adam couldn’t hear him. 

Adam regarded him with a kind of sad smile and Dean instantly knew that he heard. The human picked up his laptop and moved back towards his bed. He went to pat Dean on the back in a comforting manner but knew he made a mistake when he jostled Dean’s injured wing in the process. Dean went stiff as a board before moving into a defensive crouch. He was ready to lunge at Adam but was halted when Cas and Gabe entered the room, Cas shouting when he saw the fight that Dean was about to start. 

Cas pulled Dean up and led him out of the dorm, calling a farewell over his shoulder to his brother. 

Cas fussed over Dean as they walked back, forcing his to wear his jacket so he wouldn’t get too cold. 

When they finally got on their way back to their own dorm, Dean was grateful for Cas’ hoodie. It was soft and warm and carried an indescribable scent that was just _Cas_. Dean’s mind was swimming with questions but he couldn’t find anything to say. He and Cas were walking side by side and Dean couldn’t help but glance at Cas when he thought he wasn’t looking.

By the time they returned to their dorm Dean was feeling extremely guilty about the way Cas was shivering. Cas pulled a blanket around his shoulders as he kicked off his shoes and plopped down on the bed. Dean could feel Cas’ glare on his back as he grabbed a beer out of the fridge. 

Dean sat next to Cas at his prompting. He immediately took a long drink to drown out everything in his mind and body that was telling him to make better use of the bed that they were sitting on. Dean was wildly disappointed when Cas placed his beer out of his reach, but not so much when Cas’ hands started moving along his wings. 

At first every touch felt to both of them like it was completely necessary, like every one had to happen for the sake of Dean’s health, but once things started moving along it was clear that both of them weren’t not enjoying it. Dean was unsure of when patching up wounds turned to grooming wings, pulling sticks out of the feathers and clearing out bits of dust and dirt. It was hard for Dean to stay awake and when he was woken up by Cas’ alarm clock he hadn’t even realized that he had fallen asleep. 

Dean turned around to find an exhausted looking Cas who seemed as surprised as Dean that it was time to get up already. Dean insisted on getting coffee, knowing that Cas would protest with much more strength when he wasn’t half asleep. Dean made sure that he was out the door before Cas had even thought of the danger of leaving the dorm alone after last night. 

The bandages on Dean’s wing stood out obnoxiously against his feathers and the area covered by them tingled unpleasantly. The cool air made Dean thankful that he was still wearing Cas’ hoodie. He got a few strange looks from people passing by, be it because news had travelled of the fight or due to the absurdly obvious bandages on his wing, he had no idea. He stepped into the campus Starbucks and ordered a coffee for himself and Cas, long since having memorized Castiel’s order. As he stood at the end of the counter waiting for the pair of coffees he let his eyes drift across the tired faces in the room. His heart skipped a beat when he recognized one of last night’s demons across the room. He was ready to run from the coffee shop, sans coffee, but forgot about the idea when a flash of fear sprinted across the demon’s face before the gaze dropped. 

The demon was scared.

Of _him_.

Or rather, Cas’ protectiveness of him. 

Dean was hit with a strange thought as he took the coffees and began the chilly trek to the lecture hall.

He was kind of falling in love with Castiel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alrighty i hope you enjoyed!
> 
> this marks the end of my pre-planned chapters so i'm not sure what will happen with the next few (i hoping to get at least two more chapters out before i end this sha-bang cause it doesn't seem quite finished yet and i ain't tryin to leave an unfinished fic lying around)
> 
> i have some ideas for upcoming chapters, if y'all have any ideas of your own you can leave them in the comments on in my ask box on [my tumblr](http://xactamundo.tumblr.com)
> 
> your comments and kudos mean the world to me, see you in the next chapter!
> 
> (A/N 22/10/2016: This fic is not abandoned. I know I've not updated in a while by my standards but I do have plans to finish it. I've been extremely busy these past few months with the start of high school, marching band, tennis, and physical therapy for a knee injury courtesy of marching band. Tennis has ended, I only have one more week of physical therapy, and the end of marching band is on the horizon. I may start a short fic or two while I wait to have time to finish this but I don't want to start half-assing chapters just for the sake of putting them up. I am going to finish this (think six more chapters) but until then I just want everyone to know that I'm not abandoning this anytime soon.)


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OHMYGOD IT'S BEEN AGES
> 
> I MISSED YALL
> 
> HOPE YOU DON'T HATE ME FOR LEAVING YALL ALONE FOR THIS LONG
> 
> ENJOY THE CHAPTER

The temperature had dropped significantly since the sun went down. Dean was rubbing his hands together feverishly in an attempt to warm them since he’d forgotten his gloves back at the dorm. 

Forgotten wasn’t exactly the word for it. He left them because he’d underestimated Midwest weather.

“Are you alright?” Cas asked from Dean’s right side. 

“’m fine.” Dean replied out of habit.

“Dean.” Cas said sternly.

“My fingers are cold ‘s all.” 

Cas huffed quietly, the air that blew out of his mouth visible in the cool air. They walked in silence for a minute or so before Cas reached over and took one of Dean’s hands. Dean’s feet stopped moving. He felt pressure in his chest and immediate warmth in his fingers, whether real or imaginary. Cas laced their fingers together and tugged Dean along. Dean followed, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to get a grip on words. 

“What?” Cas asked innocently.

“What are you… you’re… I…”

“I’m just sharing the warmth.”

Dean snapped his mouth closed, deciding that he didn’t want to say anything to make Cas drop his hand. They walked together in silence again, their hands firmly linked together. Dean shoved his other hand in his pocket. They reached the dorm in five minutes, entirely too fast for Dean. Cas dropped his hand to unlock the door. Dean followed him inside, depositing his coat on the footboard of his bed. Cas neatly folded his thick hoodie and placed it in its spot on top of his dresser. 

Cas was amazingly organized. Each of his drawers contained immaculately folded shirts, pants, and sweaters. A plastic bin containing all of his shorts was slid under his bed to reappear in the spring. A power strip by his bed housed the chargers for his phone and laptop, as well as the cord to his bedside lamp, all magically remaining untangled. His bed was always made, his dirty clothes always made it into the hamper, and ‘his’ side of the bathroom counter was always neat and tidy. 

Dean wasn’t unorganized, per say, but no one really matched up when it came to Cas. He had a couple stacks of clean clothes piled by his dresser that he had yet to put away. There were a few pairs of jeans strewn about the floor that he planned to wear a couple more times before he did his laundry and his blankets were never on the bed quite right. His shorts were mixed with his pants were mixed with his shirts were mixed with his socks were mixed with his underwear. His side of the counter in the bathroom had an open tube of toothpaste and a toothbrush that dripped water on the counter. Hair products were strewn about with varying stages of being closed. 

Cas sat down on his bed and pulled his computer out of his bag, plugging it in and pulling off his shoes as it booted up. Dean was picking a hoodie off of the footboard where he had just dropped his coat. As he tugged the hoodie over his head he decided that this one had started as Cas’. Their wardrobes had blended when it came to t-shirts and hoodies. Dean glanced over and found Cas in one of his faded Metallica shirts. He had his laptop on his lap and was typing away with a furrowed brow. Cas glanced over the top of the monitor at Dean and smirked.

“What’cha looking at?” Cas asked. 

“I-I... nothing,” Dean stuttered. 

Cas shook his head and looked back to his computer. Dean could feel his cheeks heating up. Who _stutters_? Not Dean Winchester, that’s for sure. 

Dean sighed and grabbed his coat. 

“Where are you going?” Cas asked.

“I’m going to go visit Sam.”

“Right now?” 

“I won’t be gone long.”

“Dean, if there’s something you’d like to talk about…”

“See ya, Cas.”

Dean was out the door before Cas had time to say anything else.

…

Dean did not go to visit Sam. He may have intended to, but it did not happen. On the way to his and Sam’s uncle’s house, Dean had stopped into a gas station with full intention to flirt with the cashier and get himself a six pack of beer. When he was going towards the register with his selected alcohol, he ran into a familiar golden-eyed angel. Gabriel looked at the beer Dean was carrying and raised an eyebrow.

“Now, Dean. We both know you’re under age.” Gabriel took the beer from him and went straight to the register. He flashed an ID that even Dean could tell was fake, but the cashier didn’t seem to care. She took Gabe’s money and bagged the beer, pushing it across the counter with a nongenuine ‘have a good day’. Gabriel took the bag with a charming grin and led the way out of the gas station.

Gabe ushered Dean into the passenger side of his truck and handed Dean a beer. 

“So,” Gabe popped open his beer and took a sip, “What’s up?”

“Nothing much.”

“Why are you at a gas station trying to buy beer?”

“Cause I wanted a drink?” Dean replied with an annoyed tone.

“I may not know you well, Dean, but I know that you don’t drink for no reason.”

“I do that all the time. I love drinking for no reason.”

“No, you don’t Dean.” Dean responded with a narrowing of eyes. “First time we met. You were vomiting after a binge. You got drunk because you were upset that Cassie wouldn’t come to a party with you. Second time. Movie night. You drank because you were trying to ease your nervousness around Cas. Third time. My place. You drank because you were scared and in pain.” Gabriel paused, clearly satisfied with himself. “So, Dean. What’s the reason this time?”

Dean was staring at his lap, condensation forming on the barely touched beer in his hands. 

“C’mon, Dean-o, I don’t have all day.”

“Cas.”

“What about him?”

“I really like him.”

“We’ve been over this. He likes you too.”

“I know _that_ , but I don’t know what I’m supposed to do about it.”

“Just tell him.”

“How?”

“Walk into your dorm and say ‘Oh, Casti- _yell_ , I just don’t know how I could live without you!’” Gabe said in a shrill, womanly voice. He proceeded to drape an arm around Dean and whisper in his ear, “Oh, _please_ , Castiel, mate me…” Dean shoved Gabe off before he could finish. “For real, man. Just tell him how you feel. Ask him out or something.” 

Dean smiled. “Thanks, Gabe.”

“No problem. Now finish your beer and get out of my truck.” 

Dean quickly finished the bottle and hopped out.

“See you around.”

“See ya, Dean.” Gabriel drove off, leaving Dean standing alone in the parking lot. 

Dean started back towards the campus. He had planned on catching a city bus to get to see Sam and hadn’t made it far before stopping for a beer. The campus wasn’t far and Dean was sure that he would make it back within twenty minutes. 

…

Dean opened the door to the dorm room and found Cas just as he had left him, sat on his bed with his computer on his lap, typing. 

“I thought you would be gone longer.” Cas said, not looking up from his computer. 

“Yeah.” Dean stood uncomfortably for a moment before speaking again. “Cas, can I talk to you about something?”

“Of course.” 

Cas shut his laptop and set it aside. Dean came to sit on the bed beside him and steeled his nerves. 

“Cas, I… I really like you. Like, a lot.” Dean’s heart sank when Cas didn’t respond. “It’s perfectly fine if you don’t feel the same way but I needed to get it off my chest, it’s been driving me crazy and I…”

Cas interrupted Dean with a hand on his shoulder.

“Dean, I like you a lot as well. I was actually wondering… would you like to go out for coffee sometime?”

“Yeah! I mean… yeah, I’d like that a lot.” 

…

That weekend, Dean was stood in the bathroom, fiddling with his hair incessantly even though they were supposed to have left fifteen minutes ago. 

“Dean, come on,” Cas called from the other room.

Dean made an annoyed noise and Cas came into the bathroom. He ducked under Dean’s wing and stood in front of the mirror with him. Dean smiled at him.

“You look beautiful. Now let’s go.” Cas grabbed Dean’s wrist and pulled him out of the bathroom, flipping the light off as he went. 

They went to a little coffee shop just off of campus. It was tucked away between hair salons and dive bars, Dean was sure he wouldn’t have noticed it himself. Cas led him inside. The place was cozy and warm. Tables and sofas were scattered about the place and the air smelled of fresh coffee. They both ordered and chose a sofa in the far corner of the shop. They sipped on their coffee and chatted happily, other patrons coming and going as they wasted the afternoon away together. 

They left the shop holding hands, wings bumping into each other as they walked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you enjoyed! sorry it's been so long. I've been really busy lately with the start of high school, marching band season, tennis, and physical therapy. all i've got now is girl scouts, homework, and panda, so i should be able to update more (no promises, though). 
> 
> i hope to see you in the next chapter! drop me a kudos and a comment and the next chapter might be up soon ;) while you wait, my first fic is seven hits away from 2,000 hits! do me a favor and go check it out.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not sure how happy i am with this chapter but hey it's written and it's here so i hope you enjoy!

Dean was really beginning to hate being awoken by Cas’ alarm clock. He groaned loudly and heard Cas snicker as he turned the alarm clock off. 

“Coffee?” Dean asked.

“I got it yesterday, it’s your turn.”

“No fair.”

“Completely fair, actually.” Cas yanked the blinds up. “Up and at ‘em, Dean.”

Dean whined and Cas made an annoyed face that quickly turned to a smirk. Walking quietly, Cas crept up to Dean’s bed, moving to silently straddle his legs. Dean was lying on his stomach, face buried in his pillow to block out the light. 

“Cas? What on earth are you doing?” Dean mumbled.

Cas settled his weight just above Dean’s knees. He slowly peeled the blanket back and found Dean shirtless. 

“Cas, not that I’m not into this but-”

Cas quickly cut him off by grabbing him by the sides and quickly running the tips of his fingers over them.

Dean responded with a shout, immediately began to thrash, laughing uncontrollably. He managed to turn over onto his back to try and push Cas off and away, but only succeeded in revealing his stomach to Cas’ hands. Dean began shouting pleas, crying for mercy.

“Are you going to get up and get coffee, Dean?” Cas asked.

“Yes! Yes, I’ll do it! Caaaaas, please!”

“Promise?”

“Please, please, please, _Castiel!_ ”

Cas, satisfied, let up. Dean was coughing, tears streaming down his face. His hair was more of a mess than it was before and his feathers were out of place. Dean sat up, Cas still on his thighs. They stayed nose to nose for a moment before Dean playfully shoved Cas off and went into the bathroom. 

He emerged with hair that was somewhat more tamed along with fresh breath. He was about to walk out the door, but Cas grabbed him by the shoulder before he touched the handle. Dean made a confused little noise before Cas went at his wings, tucking the feathers back into place. He did as thorough a job he could do in a couple of minutes. When he finished, he shoved Dean forward a bit.

“Go. Coffee.” Cas ordered. 

Dean shot a smirk over his shoulder before disappearing out the door. 

Cas walked into the bathroom to get ready for the day. He had just finished brushing his teeth when Cas heard the door burst open. 

“Dean?” Cas yelled, peeking out of the bathroom.

Dean was poised to shake his wings and hair out on the carpet. 

“DON’T!” Cas yelled. Dean froze. “Shake that out in the _hallway_.”

Dean blushed and walked out the door to shake the snow out of his feathers. 

“It’s a blizzard out there, Cas. Are classes cancelled?” 

“I’ll check.” 

Cas tapped away at his phone. 

“They’re cancelled.” Cas announced after a minute. 

Dean whooped loudly, grinning happily from his spot on the floor where he was working off his shoes. He took care to drop them on the mat before walking over to Cas’ bed and plopping down next to him. 

“So…” Dean rubbed his shoulder against Cas’, lingering on the ‘o’. 

“What?” Cas asked with a laugh.

“What do you wanna do?”

Cas thought for a moment.

“Movie day?” He eventually suggested. 

“Sure! I picked up some popcorn and hot chocolate at the store a few days ago, we can have a go at that.” 

Cas smiled at how excited Dean seemed. 

“How about you make a batch of popcorn and a couple of hot chocolates and I’ll get the TV up and running.” 

Dean nodded and walked over to their designated ‘kitchen area’ where they had gathered paper plates, plastic utensils, a cheap microwave, and the mini fridge. Dean pulled out one of their few non-disposable bowls and a bag of popcorn. He followed to instructions on the package and poured the finished product into the bowl before making the hot chocolates.

By the time he had finished, Cas was spreading blankets and pillows out on the floor and had already chosen a movie. Cas took a hot chocolate and sat down, patting the space next to him to invite Dean over. Cas started the movie, some random, low-budget sitcom, and threw a blanket around his shoulders. Dean made an annoyed noise and yanked some of the blanket back to get under it himself. They ended up on their stomachs, popcorn bowl in front of them and hot chocolates set to the side to avoid knocking them over. They laughed more at the production of the movie – the continuity errors, the crappy sets, the bad acting – than they did at the actual jokes in the movie. Once it ended, Dean sent Cas to get more drinks and popcorn while he picked the movie. A cheesy horror film. 

The two of them took turns picking movies and making runs for popcorn and hot chocolate, slowly scooting closer to each other with each shift of their bodies. Eventually, Dean lost track of where his wings ended and Cas’ started. Their sides were pressed up against each other and their fingers were intertwined. 

Somehow they shifted so that Dean was underneath Cas and they were facing each other. They kissed lazily and slowly. Neither of them seemed to remember the movie playing in the background. Dean’s arms were around Cas’ neck, resting on the very top of Cas’ wings. The blanket had been thrown aside and both of their shirts had been removed at one point or another and Dean didn’t mind the chill of the room because Cas was warm and Cas was kissing him and everything else ceased to matter except for _Cas_. Cas’ lips were soft and his stubble scratched at Dean’s face in the perfect way. Dean didn’t know what time it was but he couldn’t care less as long as Cas was still on top of him. Cas’ wings boxed him in and he was surrounded in a sea of the midnight sky. Dean buried his fingers in the soft feathers, resting them there. Cas licked his way into Dean’s mouth, sighing happily. Cas tasted like hot chocolate and mint. 

Suddenly, Cas pulled back, pushing himself up onto his elbows.

“The movie is over, Dean,” Cas said, focusing on the blush of Dean’s cheeks and his widely blown pupils.

“I don’t care,” Dean answered, pulling Cas back down and meeting his lips again. 

They kissed for for ages, lacking concern for the world around them. The room was filled with the sound of their breathing. Dean ran his hands down Cas’ chest and stomach, exploring the valleys and peaks of his skin. They lost themselves in each other.

That is, until Dean’s phone rang. 

Cas sprang off of Dean as if shocked, glancing around to find what emitted the noise. Dean mumbled an apology and unlocked his phone to find a text from an old fuckbuddy of his, asking for a meet up. He quickly sent off a negative response before turning back to Cas. Cas’ feathers were sticking up in odd places, his hair was impossibly messier than it normally was, and his entire body was flushed. 

“Sorry ‘bout that.” Dean said with a weak smile.

“It’s fine. What time is it?”

“Just past eleven.”

Cas’ eyes went wide. “We should probably get to bed; we have class in the morning.”

Dean nodded and began helping to pick up the little nest they had made on the floor. 

“It’s cold in here,” Dean said as Cas was finishing up spreading his blankets over his bed.

“I’ve got an idea.” Cas grabbed Dean’s hand and pulled him over to his bed, climbing in and urging Dean to follow. 

It was a bit awkward as they tried to get settled. The bed was not made for two people, much less two grown angels, and it took a lot of shifting before legs and arms were all contained on the bed. Cas wrapped his arms around Dean’s waist and pulled him closer, tucking his wings around him. Dean sighed happily, nestling into Cas’ chest. Their legs were tangled together under the blankets. Dean playfully pressed kisses onto the underside of Cas’ jaw until Cas threatened to kick him out and make him sleep in his own bed. Dean huffed in a frustrated tone, but settled down and closed his eyes. He could hear the wind whipping falling snow around outside just before he fell asleep in Cas’ arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pointless fluuuufffff, pointless fluuuufffff
> 
> i hope you enjoyed! if you did be sure to leave me a comment and kudos and i'll see you in the next chapter!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it's been like eight years since i've posted a chapter. homework blah blah blah writers block blah blah blah exhaustion blah blah blah who i am as a person.  
> before we get onto the chapter i do believe it's about time for my semi-annual Beg For A Beta™ event. in the end notes i'll drop off my tumblr and beg you to contact me if you're willing to read The Shit I Write. i'll tell y'all more about what i'm looking for in a beta down there but all of you are welcome to hit me up. (even if you don't want to beta, we can just be friends if you like). anyway, i'll see you at the bottom!

Castiel and Dean went to sleep _far_ too late. When Cas’ alarm clock went off, they snoozed it five times collectively. Cas sat bolt upright when the alarm went off for the sixth time. 

“Dean.” Cas said, shaking Dean’s shoulder. 

Dean groaned and burrowed further into the blanket. 

“Dean. Class. Twenty minutes.” Cas started climbing out of the bed. Dean caught his wrist and tried to pull him back down. Cas easily pulled his wrist out of Dean’s fingers and tugged the curtains open. 

“Coffee?” Dean asked, finally sitting up.

“No time. Get dressed.” 

“But coffee…”

“Dean, you are such a child when you’re tired.” Cas grabbed a random t-shirt that was lying on the floor. “If you want to get chewed out for being absent, be my guest.” Cas grabbed a pair of socks out of his dresser. “I, however, am going to be in class.” He walked into the bathroom to quickly brush his teeth. Cas could hear the familiar groan of his bed as Dean dragged himself out of his nest of blanket. He smirked to himself as he listened to Dean stumbling around the room, gathering clothes. He walked into the bathroom hair askew, feathers out of place, pants slung low on his hips, and wearing Cas’ hoodie. 

“That’s my hoodie,” Cas said, gesturing towards the piece of clothing with his comb. 

“That’s my shirt,” Dean replied, pointing with his tube of toothpaste. 

Cas glanced down at his clothes and realized that Dean was right. Cas hadn’t noticed anything about the shirt except for its soft texture and pleasant scent. He smiled, glancing between himself and Dean. 

“Hey, smiley. Class in fifteen.” Dean said.

Cas rolled his eyes, reaching around himself to straighten out some feathers. He strode out of the bathroom and gathered his materials as well as Dean’s, pushing Dean’s bag into his arms as he walked out of the bathroom. Dean mumbled something that sounded like “thanks, Cas,” pressing a quick kiss against Cas’ cheek. 

Cas grabbed his coat, leading the way out the door and towards the lecture hall. 

They walked to class in silence, as they normally did. Dean twined his fingers with Cas’ when they emerged from the dorm building. They kept up a quick stride to make sure they’d have time to settle in before class started. 

The walk, as always, seemed too short by the time they reached the lecture hall. Cas was ready to part from Dean to sit on his side of the room, sadly working his fingers out of Dean’s. As Cas tried to do it, however, he noticed Dean tightening his grip. 

“Dean?” Cas said, confused. 

“Sit with me?”

Cas smiled and allowed Dean to pull him along to his normal seat. 

Dean kicked some pale, scrawny, jittery human out of the seat next to his for Cas to sit. The two of them had just settled into their seat when the professor got up from his desk and started talking. Cas quickly booted up his computer and started typing. Dean began scribbling away at his battered notebook. 

About fifteen minutes into the lecture, Cas felt a warm hand on his knee. He glanced up from his screen and saw a little smirk on Dean’s face. Cas quickly dragged his eyes off of Dean and back to his laptop screen. Dean was rubbing circles into his skin with his thumb. 

Cas couldn’t stop grinning for the entirety of the lecture.

…

 

The pair of them ended up hanging out outside the lecture hall with Dean’s friends for a bit after class. Cas couldn’t remember any of their names but did know what they whispered to Dean about him. The short blonde called him pretty. The redhead said he was a keeper. The brunettes both agreed that he was out of Dean’s league. Cas was blushing vividly by the time he and Dean began the trek back to the dorm room. 

“So? What do you want to do tonight?” Dean asked once they were out of earshot of his friends. They were catcalling the couple, laughing at their own jokes. Dean flipped them off over his shoulder, squeezing Cas’ hand.

“Is it movie night?” 

“Last night was movie night.”

“I mean movie night with the brothers.”

“I mean we watched so much last night…”

“’Watched’ is an interesting term for it. I remember making out through two thirds of the movies we ‘watched’.”

“What lovely memories.”

“So? Movie night?”

Dean sighed. “Sure, movie night it is.”

…

The movie was playing but no one was watching. Gabe, being quite tipsy, was tangled up with Sam in the corner. They were practically eating each other alive. 

Cas was occupied with Dean, who had fallen asleep on Cas’ stomach. Cas was petting his fingers through Dean’s hair, admiring his sleeping form. Cas was doing his best to ignore Sam and Gabe in the corner, but finally lost it when he heard a loud moan. 

“Gabe. Gabe! GABRIEL!” Cas shouted.

“Shut up, Cassie, can’t you tell I’m busy here?” Gabe finally replied. 

“A bit too busy, I would venture,” Cas mumbled to himself.

“If you wanted a fight, little bro, you could’a just said.” Gabriel growled.

“You’re drunk, Gabriel.”

“Got that right, now square up.” Gabe was struggling to stand, caught up in a blanket and Sam’s limbs. 

“Gabe, please leave.”

“What? You gonna kick me out now?” Gabe grunted as he fell back to the floor.

“Sam…”

“Nuh uh, this is between me and you, Cassie,”

“Sam, can you please take him home?”

“Of course, Cas.” Sam replied from the corner. He stood and stretched before hauling Gabriel up and leading him to the door. Gabe was spitting profanities as Sam dragged him out the front door. Cas made a mental note to get Sam something nice for Christmas simply for putting up with his brother. 

Cas noticed Dean stirring on his stomach.

“Cas?” Dean asked in a sleepy voice.

“Hey, baby.” Cas replied, carding his fingers through Dean’s hair. 

“Where’d Sam and Gabe go?”

“Gabe was looking for a fight so Sam’s driving him home.” 

“Sam comin’ back?”

“I don’t think so. It’s late.”

“Oh.” Dean was quiet for a moment. “I’m tired.”

“I can tell.”

“Can we got to bed?”

“Of course”

“Okay.”

“Dean, you’ve got to get off me first,”

“Oh.” 

Dean shifted around, moving off of Cas’ stomach to stand. He fell into Cas’ bed, climbing under the covers. Cas joined him, curling up around him and pressing a kiss into his hair. 

“Night, Cas.”

“Good night, Dean.”

“Hey, Cas?”

“Yes?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too, Dean.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well as promised here is my [tumblr](http://xactamundo.tumblr.com). i would seriously appreciate if you guys would message me. bonus points if you're willing to give constructive criticism and pester me to write. even if you aren't interested in betaing for me then we can still chat it up. i like to think i'm nice.  
> anywho, i hope you enjoyed! see you in the next chapter.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guess who's back  
> back again  
> Lily's back  
> tell a friend

“What did you get on the test?” Dean prodded, bumping his shoulder into Cas’. 

“You first.” Cas replied.

“Ninety-seven.”

“No way.”

“What?” 

Cas didn’t respond.

“Cas?” Dean smirked, “Cas, did I do _better than you?_ ”

Cas began to walk faster, passing Dean.

“Casti _el_ , what did you get on the test?”

When Cas still didn’t respond, Dean stepped in front of him, blocking his path and gripping his shoulders to keep him from stepping to the side.

“Cas, are you mad at me?”

“Ninety-two.” 

“That’s still an A.”

“You’ve never done better than me in Latin, though,”

“You’re mad because I got a better score than you.” Dean sounded unimpressed.

Cas huffed and ducked under Dean’s arm, breaking free of his hold and continuing towards the dorm. 

“Cas, come on, don’t get mad,” Dean, once again, rushed to keep up with Cas.

“I’m not mad.”

“You’re acting like you are.”

“I’m not.”

…

Dean was bored.

Cas had been studying ever since they got back to the dorm, correcting his test answers and muttering angrily to himself when he discovered a careless mistake. 

Dean had _tried_ to let Cas study, but he was so used to having Cas around to entertain him and keep him busy that he had no idea what to do with himself. When he finally gave up trying to be his own source of entertainment, he did what he always did.

Turned to bothering Cas. 

…

“Dean.”

Dean ignored Cas, continuing to sing along to the music coming out of his headphones. He sat next to Cas on his bed, disregarding the fact that Castiel was trying to study. 

“Dean.” 

Dean played air drums along to the song, still ignoring the angel that was progressively getting angrier. 

When Cas decided that he had had enough, he grabbed the cord of Dean’s earbuds and pulled them out of his ears.

“Hey, what was that for?!” Dean asked angrily.

“I’m trying to study.”

“And that’s my problem because?”

“Dean, get off of my bed.”

“What if I said no?”

Dean found out the answer very quickly. Cas shoved him bodily off of the bed, hauling him off the floor by his upper arm and dragging him to the bed across the room. Cas pushed Dean down to sit on his own bed. He then returned to his laptop, leaving Dean across the room, looking stunned.  
The silence of Dean’s shock lasted a few minutes before Dean started to form a plan.

“Hey, Cas? Caaaaaaasssss,” Dean called across the room.

Cas quickly glanced up from his textbook to glare at Dean before returning to his studies. 

“Cas, come on,”

“Dean, I am trying to study. Would you kindly shut the fuck up?”

“But the next test isn’t until three weeks from now, do you really need to be studying?”

“Evidently.”

Dean huffed out a breath. He pouted for a moment, but his lips slowly pulled up into a smirk as he formed a plan. He stood and sauntered towards Castiel, picking Cas’ book off his lap and setting it to the side.

“Dean- “

Dean ignored Cas, climbing onto the other angel’s lap much to Castiel’s chagrin. Dean dipped his head beneath Cas’ jaw, lazily kissing along his neck. Cas seemed like he was about to say something, but instead just picked his textbook back up and set it on his knees. He pushed one of Dean’s wings out of the way to view the pages and continued on studying. 

Dean made an annoyed noise, but allowed his wing to be moved as he continued to try and distract Cas. 

They went on like that for what seemed like hours. Eventually, Cas switched from his textbook to his computer, continuing on working while Dean’s movements slowed until he was simply resting his head against Cas’ collarbone. Cas peered at Dean’s face and found his eyes closed, asleep. He sighed, gently stroking Dean’s wings. He scrolled through websites with one hand, the other roving along Dean’s hair and wings. 

Dean had been asleep on his lap for nearly half an hour when his breathing picked up. He squirmed and his muscles tensed and he quietly whined. His face was screwed up in what appeared to be pain. Dean’s fingers were clutched in Cas’ shirt, wrinkling the fabric under his grip. Cas wrapped his arms around Dean’s shaking form, gently swaying from side to side in an attempt to calm Dean’s nightmares. 

Cas continued this until Dean seemed to relax. His hands loosened on the fabric of Cas’ shirt, his pained expression slowly dropped off his face, and his shaking and twitching calmed. Cas looked at the angel in his lap with concern. What on earth had Dean been dreaming about? Dean didn’t wake up until around twenty minutes after he had relaxed. He glanced about the room, confusion on his face. 

“Cas?” Dean asked sleepily.

“Yes?”

“What time is it?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Oh.” Dean paused for a moment, “Can we go to bed?”

“Of course,”

Cas helped Dean off of his lap, tucking him into bed before climbing in after him. He curled around Dean’s back, pressing a gentle kiss to the back of Dean’s neck before drifting off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you guys enjoyed! i know this one was a little short, but i have everything i want to do planned out for the next chapters so yeah sorry about that.  
> so i've been thinking about going back through AFTER i'm done writing the other chapters and adding in the chapters like i did earlier in the story with the jumping perspectives (don't ask me why I stopped, i don't know, something happened while i was storyboarding) so let me know in the comments what you think about that. it would definitely be after i finish writing the last two chapters but like if nobody's gonna read it i'd rather know now XD  
> anyway, i hope y'all liked this, and i hope to see you guys in the next chapter!


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOLY SHIT A NEW CHAPTER AFTER WHO KNOWS HOW LONG OMG  
> hi guys i'm not dead

Neither Cas nor Dean had classes the next day. The pair of them walked to the coffee shop where they had had their first date simply to get out of the dorm. They each got a coffee and sat down, not talking for a while, just enjoying the others company. 

After thoroughly having enjoyed his coffee, Castiel broke the silence. 

“Hey, Dean? Were you having a nightmare last night?” He asked.

Dean cocked his head and laughed a bit. “What gave it away?”

“You were shaking quite a lot and seemed quite distressed.” There wasn’t any humor in Cas’ voice.

“Yes, Cas, I had a bad dream. It’s no big deal. How’d the studying go?” 

Cas detected Dean’s discomfort on the subject, which only caused him more worry. He allowed the subject change, deciding to bring it up when they were back at the dorm. After all, this was a pleasant little date they had going.

…

They had such a lovely time, Cas almost regretted the fact that he was going to have to bring up last night once they got back to the dorm. When they entered the room, Dean kicked off his shoes and flopped face-first on a bed (it didn’t really matter whose was whose at this point). Cas sat on the edge of the same bed, nudging Dean’s leg over to give himself more space. 

“Dean,” Cas said.

“Yeah, babe?” Dean responded, sound muffled just a bit by the pillow his face was pressed into. 

“What exactly was your nightmare about last night?”

Dean hesitated a moment before replying, “I don’t really remember, Cas,”

“Must you lie to me about this?”

“Why is it such a big deal? I’m a big boy, I can handle a little nightmare, Castiel,”

“If it was so little why is it such an issue to disclose it?”

“Why did you answer my question with another?”

“For God’s sake, Dean,”

“Why is it such a big deal?”

Cas sighed, shoulders drooping, “I’m just worried about you. I’ve not noticed you having nightmares before. Perhaps my concern was unfounded,”

Cas paused when Dean sat up, tucking his legs underneath him. “If you must know it was a stupid dream about those demons from a few weeks ago. It was dumb, I’m fine.”

“It’s still-“

“I’m fine, Castiel.”

Although Dean was insisting that he wasn’t affected, his body language was saying otherwise. Even from the back, he looked like he was trying to collapse in on himself. His wings were pulled in tight around his shoulders and he was slouching so deeply, his elbows were likely resting on his knees. 

Castiel cautiously moved closer to the distressed angel. He rested a gentle hand on Dean’s back, in between his wings. He fought to keep his rising fury within him. There was no reason to be upset at the demons if they hadn’t done anything.

“They aren’t still bothering you, are they?” Cas asked in a soft tone. When Dean didn’t respond within a few moments, Cas spoke again, “Dean, what did they do? They didn’t beat you up again,”

“No, they didn’t,” Dean sighed, “They haven’t done anything physical.”

Cas waited patiently for Dean to speak again, rubbing little patterns into Dean’s skin through his shirt.

“They haven’t said anything to my face…” Dean continued.

“But…?” 

“It’s fine. It’s dumb anyway,” Dean said, attempting to shake Cas’ hand off of his back.

“Dean, I’m not going to laugh at you, please just tell me what’s been going on,”

Dean shifted around on the bed, moving to face Cas. He dragged a hand over his face, “It’s been… online?” Dean said weakly.

Cas sighed.

“It’s alright though, I’ve been-“ 

“What you’ve been doing is trying to brush it off but still letting it get to you.”

“No, Cas, it’s fine,”

“If it was fine, it wouldn’t be giving you nightmares,” Cas placed a gentle hand on Dean’s knee, “Have you spoken to anyone in the Counselling Center?”

Dean snorted a bit. 

“Dean, I’m serious.”

“If I do that then I have no doubt they’d escalate back to physical,” Dean paused as his voice cracked, “physical harassment.”

Cas bit his lip and stood up. He took Dean’s laptop off the dresser and handed it to Dean. 

“Schedule an appointment. I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Where are you going?”

“Don’t worry about me. Make the appointment.”

With that, Cas pulled on his shoes and walked out of the dorm. 

…

Castiel’s absence was approaching the hour mark when he strode confidently back into the dorm room. Dean jumped up from his place on the bed to get a closer look at the rumpled angel. 

Cas was a mess. His feathers were all out of place, blood was smeared under his nose, and, upon closer inspection, his knuckles were split.

“Cas,” Dean said cautiously.

“Could you help me with these, I’m useless at bandaging with my left hand.” Cas said before Dean had a chance to finish his though. 

Dean nodded and followed Cas into the bathroom. Dean pushed on Cas’ shoulder, making him sit on the lid of the toilet while Dean dug around for the first aid equipment. He came up with alcohol wipes, Neosporin, and Band-Aids. He quickly took a dampened washcloth to the blood beneath Cas’ nose before setting his sights on Cas’ knuckles. 

“Gonna sting,” was the only warning Castiel got before the alcohol wipe was being rubbed across his split knuckles. Cas hissed and made a halfhearted attempt at pulling his wrist out of Dean’s grip. Dean, however, held firm. Once he was satisfied with the cleaning of the wounds, Dean began ripping open Band-Aids and squeezing Neosporin onto them before wrapping them around Cas’ knuckles. Cas blew a quick stream of air out of his mouth when the last split was bandaged, the burn of the alcohol finally neutralized by the antibiotic. Dean wasted no time in grabbing Cas’ other hand and setting to it with the other alcohol wipe. Once the the bandaging was finished, Dean pulled Cas out of the bathroom by the wrist. 

Dean carefully pushed Cas down to sit on the edge of the bed. He climbed behind Cas and sat himself at Cas’ back. 

“What are you doing?” Cas asked with a smirk in his voice.

“Your wings are a mess. Were you flying?” Dean replied, setting in on Cas’ wings.

“Perhaps.” 

Dean rolled his eyes as he continued to work, “What did you do?”

Cas sighed.

“Did you get into a fight, Cas?”

“They started it.”

“Is that going to be clear if they report anything?”

“Of course, Dean. They aren’t going to bother you anymore.” 

“That isn’t what I’m worried about,” 

“I’m alright. Everything is going to be fine.”

Dean shook his head and continued to work. 

…

It was late by the time Dean was finished with Cas’ wings. They hadn’t been speaking during the process. Cas had a book open on his lap, though he closed it when Dean finally pulled his hands away. Dean reached around Cas’ torso and took the book from him, setting it on the nearest flat surface before climbing onto Cas’ lap.

“Well, this is familiar.” Cas said with a good natured smile. 

“Shut up,” Dean pressed his lips against Cas’ before he had time to respond. 

“Hey, Dean,” Cas mumbled breathlessly when Dean finally pulled away for a moment, “do you wanna, you know,”

“Yeah. I do, Cas.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dear lord  
> take that last sentence as you will, everything will (hopefully) be explained in the next chapter
> 
> okay so here's the plan for the rest of this
> 
> there are two more chapters that will go up after this one
> 
> however
> 
> as i previously said, i got a little frustrated at myself when i was looking back at chapters and realized how i had deviated from my previous format of the changing perspectives
> 
> i've gone through the story and noted which chapters need a companion chapter to get back into that format. i'm going to write said chapters and edit a few to fit together better when those chapters are released. these chapters won't go up until _after_ i finish these next two
> 
> "what the hell does that mean?" i hear you asking
> 
> after the next two chapters, the story will be complete. once those are up, there are four companion chapters that i will release. these won't introduce any new plot, but you can read them if you want. i'll make a note in the chapter title (oh yeah, i'm gonna name the chapters) so you guys will know that they're the new companion chapters.
> 
> long story short, you don't really have to read them, but you can
> 
> anyway, i'll see you guys in the next chapter!
> 
> EDIT: there are five companion chapters that i'm gonna do. my bad


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm not dead!

Dean could not figure out why on earth Cas brought up this stupid nightmare business. It nearly ruined their coffee date in Dean’s eyes when he brought it up, but Dean had deflected well enough to shake it off. Cas had no reason to be this concerned about it. 

In the back of Dean’s mind, he knew that he should let it out. He should confide in Cas. It would probably make him feel much better, not to mention the fact that Cas gave good advice, he would be able to help…

But, no. Dean was an adult. He could handle a little cyber bullying. He wasn’t going to let some asshole demons get to him, and he certainly didn’t need to worry Cas about it. He had too much on his plate as it was. Dean didn’t need to drag him into his bullshit.

Dean would be fine.

…

Dean recognized that he was being weird on the way back to the dorm. He knew that Cas knew he was under stress. Dean was practically laughing at every thing Cas said to keep himself from panicking. 

“Dean, is something wrong?” Cas asked, pulling Dean from his own thoughts.

Dean suppressed his nearly uncontrollable giggles for the moment, “Yeah, what makes you ask?”

Cas sighed quietly, quickly recovering with a gentle smile, “Nothing.”

“Cas,” Dean finished the syllable as though it was a question and cringed at the sound of his own voice.

“As long as you’re alright, Dean.”

The rest of the walk was silent.

…

Dean was mentally exhausted when they returned to the dorm, all he wanted to do was lay down and take a nap, or maybe play around on his phone until he couldn’t keep his eyes open. But of course Cas, the over-protective bastard that he was, had to bring up last night’s nightmare again.

Dean knew that he just wanted to help, he understood that, but he didn’t want it. So, he tried to avoid it. He lied every way he knew how but Cas just wasn’t dropping it. Every word in their conversation built up his frustration until Cas’ composure cracked. Dean’s heart broke with the little sigh Cas gave, and as he sat up, he couldn’t bear to look at the angel. He made himself as small as possible when he finally confessed to the cause of the nightmare. With every word he was praying that Cas wouldn’t probe further, that he would just leave it as lingering trauma.

When Cas placed his hand on Dean’s back, it made Dean want to crawl out of his skin. This was the opposite of what he wanted. He didn’t want Castiel’s pity, or anyone’s pity for that matter. 

Cas’ tone of voice was even worse. He was speaking as though he was afraid that raising his voice would cause Dean to sprint out of the dorm room, never to return.

He was probably right.

Dean nearly sobbed when Cas mentioned a counselor. This wasn’t at all what Dean wanted. He didn’t want to drag more people into this. His voice was getting weaker and he was about to lose it. If Cas didn’t let up soon, Dean wasn’t sure what he’d do. 

Dean considered it a blessing when Cas handed him his laptop and left. He immediately got up and walked to the bathroom, tears leaking out of his eyes. He splashed water on his face with shaky hands and took some deep breaths to calm himself down. Once he had more control over his breathing and heart rate, he moved back to the bed and picked up his abandoned laptop. He did as Cas said and scheduled the appointment. 

Dean let out a little sigh when he held his hand in front of his face and still found it shaking. He blinked slowly and, with robotic movements, pulled out his secret stash of beer. He pooped the top of the bottle and took a slow sip. The liquor wasn’t as cold as he would have liked, but he had strategically stashed it next to the air conditioning vent to keep it cool without Cas finding it. He would have thrown it out.

He reminded himself that this was just some liquid courage. He wasn’t drinking to get drunk. He was drinking to relax. He was drinking because he didn’t have the cash to refill his Xanax prescription. 

Dean finished the bottle. 

…

Dean was scrolling through Buzzfeed when Cas returned. He looked up and his breath caught.

Cas had been in a fight.

Dean wasn’t sure what to say. Only Cas’ name slipped out before Cas was leading the way into the bathroom to be bandaged. Dean was glad to have the alcohol in his system, his hands completely under his control as he searched for the medical supplies. Dean kept silent during the endeavor, focusing on Cas’ damaged skin and wiping blood away as he went. He kept his mind on his work until the final cut was covered. 

As Dean led Cas out of the bathroom, his eyes momentarily skirted over Cas’ rumpled wings. He thought back to the night that he had been attacked, when Cas had stayed up all night grooming his wings.

 _Time to repay the favor,_ Dean thought.

Dean sat Cas down on the bed and got himself situated as he formulated his question in his mind. 

“Did you get into a fight, Cas?” Dean finally asked. He immediately realized that he didn’t need to think that hard about it. 

Dean was disappointed in the stunted conversation that came of it. Cas didn’t want to talk about it. Dean knew the feeling, so he let it slide. 

They sat in comfortable silence.

…

Dean was itching to get up and move by the time Cas’ wings were back in order. He straightened up and sighed as his back cracked in response. Dean took Cas’ book from him, determined to have at least a little fun tonight. He climbed on top of Cas, his arms sliding around Cas’ neck as though they always belonged there. 

Dean almost giggled when Cas’ awkward self couldn’t even say the word “mate.” 

He was certainly going to get to move tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys. i just wanted to thank you so much for continuing to read this story even when i take eight years to update. i love you guys and you're the reasons i keep writing this even when i'm frustrated with fixing chapters that i didn't keep my sort of theme with.  
> while i've got you here, i want a quick opinion. should i actually go back and fix those chapters? do you/did you notice while reading this fic that i didn't keep with my two perspectives thing on some of the chapters? i'm honestly at the point now that i probably won't fix them unless i get random inspo, but just let me know
> 
> thank you guys so much, even if we don't know each other, you all mean the world to me  
> see you in the next chapter!
> 
> *edit: HOW MANY OF YOU FUCKERS SAW THAT I USED THE WRONG FORM OF WHOSE IN MY SUMMARY AND DIDN'T TELL ME


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well guys, this is the last chapter  
> i hope you enjoy

It was on a regular movie night when Gabriel and Sam found out about Dean and Cas.

Gabriel had shown up late as usual but instead of finding the other three on the floor in front of the TV, having already started something, he was greeted by Cas at the door, Dean and Sam having a high energy conversation further into the room. 

“Gabe!” Sam yelled when he noticed him at the door.

Cas moved to let Gabe into the room.

“What’s going on?” Gabe asked while he cautiously entered the dorm. 

Dean barely had a chance to open his mouth before Sam was excitedly explaining, “They mated! They’re mates!” 

“No kidding?” Gabe grinned at Sam’s exuberant speech, “Well then, screw movie night! We’re going out,” Gabe announced, grabbing Sam by the hand and shooting Cas a look that said he and Dean were expected to follow. 

Cas shook his head silently while Gabe and Sam left, saying they would meet them in the lobby. 

“I can’t stand him sometimes.” Cas muttered, searching for a pair of shoes. 

Dean laughed a little, “I know.”

…

Gabriel had friends at the bar he had taken them to. Anna was ready and willing to disregard the fact that the entire group was underage for the sake of celebration. Dean, much to Cas’ disdain, took advantage of the offer, ordering a beer. Gabe opted for a mojito while Cas and Sam went with soda. They relaxed at the bar, talking and sipping on their various drinks. 

After nearly an hour, Gabe and Sam left. They had a date planned, but encouraged Dean and Cas to continue on with out them. The pair moved from the bar to a booth and ordered some food, since it seemed they would be there for a while. Once their food had come, Cas decided that he wanted a drink. Dean made a comment about a stick in Cas’ ass being removed, which earned him a kick underneath the table. 

Dean learned that night that it didn’t take a lot of alcohol to get Cas drunk. Two beers in and Cas was slurring his speech and gesticulating far more than he normally would. He interrupted Dean multiple times with phrases such as, “You’re _so_ cute, did you know that?” and “Your hair is so pretty. And soft. So are your wings.” When Cas tried to lean across the table to touch Dean’s wing, Dean called for the check. 

Cas leaned on Dean as the walked back to the dorm. When they were waiting for the elevator (Dean didn’t trust Cas to make it up the stairs without breaking his nose), Cas whispered into Dean’s ear, “We should have sex when we get up there.”

“No, Cas,” Dean replied tiredly. 

“But Dean!” Cas said, drawing out the ‘e’.

“You’re drunk, Cas.”

“So?”

“So we aren’t having sex.”

Cas huffed and pouted on the elevator ride up. In the dorm, Dean had to help Cas out of his coat as it got tangled up in his wings. He carefully helped Cas get out of his clothes until Cas seemed satisfied enough to get into bed. Dean followed him in after removing his own clothes and Cas immediately gathered Dean in his arms, pulling him into his chest and burying his nose into Dean’s neck. 

“Dean?” Cas asked quietly.

“Yeah?”

“Are you drunk?”

Dean laughed gently, “Not as drunk as you.”

“Oh.”

Dean took that as a cue to go to sleep.

…

Cas was an asshole. As drunk as he was last night, he somehow didn’t have a hangover the next morning. Dean woke up to an empty bed and a rolling stomach that sent him into the bathroom immediately. As he was braced over the cool porcelain, Cas entered the dorm carrying a box of Pepto-Bismol. He retrieved a glass of water for Dean and was waiting to hand it to him once Dean had finally sat back on his heels, struggling to catch his breath and wiping the tears off his face. Dean took the glass from him and rinsed his mouth out before gingerly sipping the drink. Cas opened two of the Pepto-Bismol tablets and handed them to the pale angel, gently pulling his fingers through Dean’s mussed hair. 

Dean sat on the slowly warming tile until his head pounded a little less and his stomach calmed from the medicine. Cas offered him a hand up.

“Can we go to that diner? The one on Buchtel Avenue?” Dean asked.

“Are you sure you feel up to it?” Cas responded, eyebrows furrowed in concern. 

“Yeah. Let me go get dressed. They have a good hangover plate.”

Cas smiled as Dean shuffled into the room. As Dean dressed, Cas retrieved a thick coat from his dresser, well aware of the cold weather from his trip to the pharmacy. Dean followed his example and laced up his boots for the trek. The diner was only three blocks away, but the temperature was in the negatives. 

As they walked, Castiel wrapped a wing around Dean, pulling his close and protecting him from the wind. Dean rested his head on Cas’ shoulder, sighing to see if his breath would show in the chill. It did. They walked as quickly as they could with the un-salted sidewalks and the ice beneath the snow, which wasn’t very fast. By the time they got to the diner, their ears and noses were red and their coats damp from the falling snow. They made their way to a booth and hung their coats off the little hooks on the wall nearby. A waitress came by to take their orders and hurried off quickly to get them some coffee to warm up with. Dean gratefully wrapped his hands around the mug, letting the warmth seep into his fingers before taking a sip. Cas did the same, holding the mug close to his face so the steam hit his nose. Their eyes met and they giggled after a moment. They didn’t speak as they drank the coffee.

Their food came quickly. Dean’s plate was loaded high with bacon, eggs, toast, and hash browns. Dean started with the toast. Cas went with pancakes and was carefully applying butter and syrup while Dean munched on his toast. They both ate for a few minutes before they began to chat, their hunger ebbing.

“How do you not have a hangover?” Dean asked through a mouthful of bacon.

“How do you consistently speak with your mouth full?” Cas asked, slicing into his pancakes. 

Dean swallowed before speaking again. “Seriously though, you were drunk as all hell last night.”

“I drank quite a bit of water and had food before I began drinking. It’s science, Dean.”

Dean rolled his eyes. “I love when you talk nerdy to me, babe.”

Cas laughed quietly as he continued through his pancake stack. Dean nearly finished his eggs, leaving the hash browns for last, but had paused and was staring at Cas. 

Castiel smirked, “See something you like?” He asked, popping another slice of pancake into his mouth. 

“I don’t know, those pancakes look pretty good,” Dean replied, mirroring Cas’ expression. 

Cas took another forkful of pancake and held it out across the table, snatching it back when Dean reached for it. Dean shook his head and opened his mouth, letting Cas feed him. Just as he had begun chewing, Cas smeared the fork over Dean’s nose, leaving a trail of syrup. Dean froze and glared at the angel, who was holding back a grin. 

“Asshole.” Dean muttered, shaking his head and finishing the pancake in his mouth.

“I love you too.” Cas replied with a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i just want to take a moment to say thank you to all the readers who have kept me going through this with their comments (y'all know who you are). i dont think i wouldve finished this fic without you.
> 
> i hope that you guys enjoyed! if you like my writing, keep an eye on my page! i'm going to be pretty busy until the end of marching band season but i may have some time to write somewhere. 
> 
> well, until next time! love you guys!


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